


Secret Books of Seth

by SethRGray



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Bi-Curiosity, Biblical Themes (Abrahamic Religions), Bisexual Male Character, Bisexuality, Blood Magic, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, Coming Out, Eventual Romance, Gay, Gender Issues, Genderfluid Character, Genderqueer, Gentle Kissing, Kissing, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Masturbation, Nonbinary Character, Own Voices, POV First Person, Queer Themes, Romance, Saints, Seth - Freeform, Slayers, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, Urban Fantasy, Vampire Hunters, Vampire Slayer(s), Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:39:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 34,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25076251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SethRGray/pseuds/SethRGray
Summary: I’ve always been the boy that does everything right. As the future leader of the Sethian Saints, I’ve devoted my life to “redeeming” as many of the Damned (you’d call them vampires, I suppose) as I possibly can.But on the very first mission with my new partner (who I’ve had a crush on since we were kids. Don’t ask.) things get complicated. What should be a simple case quickly reveals layers of conspiracy I could never have imagined.Everything I thought was solid truth begins unraveling beneath a web of lies and secrets. After a lifetime of faith, for the first time I’m starting to wonder…Maybe I’m not that boy, after all.





	1. The Thirteenth of Azrael

**Seth Speaks:**

If you're reading this, the Apocalypse is over. I wish I had some words of comfort, but I have only the words in this testament.

My name is Sethary St. James, and what follows is the most accurate account of the end of days I've been able to write. I've spared no feelings, even my own, determined to pen every detail I can recall. Fortunately, all the Saints were trained in memorization and observation, so I believe this document mostly reliable.

Then again, so many things I once believed have crumbled beneath the colossus of time. I suppose, whoever you are, that you must decide for yourself whether these words ring true or false.

Whatever the verdict, I hope these pages are some sort of solace to the reader. They are an agony absolute to the writer. Why, then, did I take it upon myself to record such a painful subject?

Because it's all my fault.

I have no right to apologize, even to beg your forgiveness. Please believe I never meant to hurt anyone.

I never meant to fall in love.

To truly chronicle the last mission, I must start with my first. Even then, on the day I was knighted, the red chord of fate was already unwinding. It was my eighteenth birthday...

* * *

Why were suits so uncomfortable? I wondered. As we walked through the trees I couldn’t help rolling my shoulders, wishing I could loosen the tie around my neck. But Dad had spent so much time tying the knot just right. (He’d even tried to work some gel through my hair, though my messy waves never behaved as well as his. Already curls were trying to sneak past my ears.) It wasn’t just the tie. Somehow the slacks were too loose and too baggy at once, and the dress shoes weren’t even tall enough to keep my boot knife. I felt naked without it. 

I imagine we looked a little silly, all the Saints in suits and dresses walking through the woods. Not that the way was rugged or anything. The trail was wide and even enough that anyone could follow it, even with a cane or wheelchair. Some of our finest had given of their very bodies in the field, and it would be unthinkable to exclude them from our observances.

The path turned a gentle curve before leveling out into the clearing we called the chapel in the woods, the most sacred place in Empyrean. Not because the land was blessed, even the grove of the Secret City was as flawed as all the half-made world. This place was holy because we made it so. The Saints had been performing weddings, funerals, and ascensions in these trees since my Great-Something Grandfather had chosen this spot over four hundred years ago. I had attended all of those things here myself.

Now we were gathering for me. It wasn’t every day the youngest of the Saints officially joined the Knights of Seth. I’d been preparing for this my whole life, but this was an important day for all of us. Now that all of the younger generation were of age, we would begin making families of our own.

But that wasn’t something I liked to think about much. Eventually, I’d have to marry and have kids, pass on the line as all Saints must. A bridge to be crossed another day. 

We’d reached the chapel while I’d been lost in thought. Rows of stone pews, worn smooth with years, arced around a flat space in the center. There was no pulpit. Everyone was at the same level here.

Dad and I sat in the front, waiting for everyone to find their seats. Uncle Rudy sat next to us, a long box between his hands. Soon it would be mine. I almost couldn’t stand it. Dad’s hand landed on my knee, and it wasn’t until then that I realized my foot had been tapping. 

My soon-to-be partner Evan and his father approached. They would be sitting with us, of course. After all, it was our fraternization. Before I could marshall my emotions, my heart skipped a traitorous beat as Evan sat next to me. I know it’s pathetic to love someone who doesn’t (can’t) love you back, but I couldn’t help it. I’d honestly tried. 

Most good looking men are simply  _ handsome _ , but Evan would make the Morningstar weep. His eyes were the precise shade of sunlight through jade, set deep beneath a brow just stern enough to lend his beauty some authority without looking prehistoric. Most people who say they have black hair actually have the deepest brown. Not him. A raven’s wing cried for the shade of Evan’s hair, whole ebony trees withered in shame. Even the most beguiling of the Damned could not hold a candle to Evander St. John, which was, frankly, impossible. Surely his build was some sort of optical illusion, for there was no other way such broad shoulders could narrow so appealingly at the waist. Unlike myself, he seemed perfectly at ease in his dress clothes. 

I would have to be made of stone not to respond to him, despite my training. Denying Evan’s charm would be like spitting on fine art. He was simply a cut above the rest of us. 

“Seth?” he said, and it was only then I realized I’d been staring at him.

“We need to talk,” I said. “Before we start.”

He opened his mouth to question, but I slipped off the bench and headed for the trees on the edge of the clearing. The woods were just dense enough to shield our mouths from lip readers.

Jadeite eyes swept me over. “Is everything okay?”

“I hope so,” I said, praying my voice didn’t betray the pounding of my heart. “I need to tell you something.”

He waited for me to go on, just looking at me calmly. No Saint would show visible impatience. 

“We’ve known each other our whole lives,” I said.

“We all have,” he said.

“Right.” Why was this so awkward? So hard? “But what I mean is we’ve been friends for a while, ever since you were partners with Harley.” 

He nodded. “Sure.”

I took a breath, released it. “Is that why you chose me?”

Evan frowned. “What do you mean?”

“As a companion,” I said. 

“You’re asking if I picked you because we’re friends?”

I nodded.

“No,” he said. “I picked you because you’re the best swordsman your age.”

Blushing is just a biological response to an emotional state. By keeping my breathing slow and even my heart rate would stay steady and no blood would stain my cheeks.

“Something else?” he asked when I didn’t move.

“I appreciate it,” I mumbled. 

He looked uncomfortable. “Seth, that’s not--”

“I mean it.” My voice was clear now. “No one else asked, not even Harley. My own cousin didn’t want me.”

“I-I’m sure that’s not true.” He stumbled over the lie.

“It is,” I said. “And I think you know why.”

“What do you mean?” He asked, but wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“I’m gay,” I said quietly, clenching my fists at my side so he couldn’t see my hands trembling. “And I can’t be your companion unless you know that. I mean, everyone already knows, or thinks they do, but I needed to tell you. I’ll understand if you want to call this off.”

He took his time answering, deep enough in thought that a pensive expression actually bloomed on his face. “Look, I don’t get it, but I don’t need to. Worrying about someone’s, uh, preferences is what the Paulines do. We just focus on Spirit, but everyone has their own struggles getting there.”

I nodded, studying the ground. Labeling my sexuality a ‘struggle’ wasn’t exactly ideal, but it was probably the best I could hope for. 

“So you still want to be my partner?”

His knuckles tipped my chin up so we were locked at the eye. “Do you still want me to be?”

Throat too dry to speak, I could only nod. 

“Let’s get out there, then.” He dropped his hand, and I had to convince myself my face wasn’t tingling where he’d touched me.

As we walked, I felt my nerves lifting. I took my place with no more fidgeting. 

A hushed whisper rippled through our ranks as the Magda came down the middle aisle, leaning on her cane. Esperanza St. Thomas was a legend, the foremost of the female Saints at only 28. She lost her leg in the same mission that had taken her sister, but somehow had managed to redeem the Damned responsible  _ and _ save her sister’s children. One of whom, her niece (and companion) Bendis, was accompanying her today. 

Beni, I noticed with surprise, had eschewed a dress in favor of black slacks. Probably to support Espy, who always wore long pants herself. She noticed me watching them and winked before turning to help her aunt into the pews. 

The moment came with casual suddenness, the Saints’ way. Dad simply stood, walked a few steps forward, and turned around. 

“Today,” Dad began, his voice booming through the woods, “we recognize my son Seth, who’s finally a man.”

Despite the lack of ceremony, he cut an impressive figure. He stood in a shaft of sunlight, the beam spiraling in a splendid halation through the same cap of golden curls he’d given to me.

“We aren’t a sentimental people,” Dad said. “But I hope you all, and my son, will permit me one quick story.”

“Oh, my Josh,” I muttered, to chuckles from the Brethren in earshot. Evan nudged me with his elbow.

“When Seth was five or six he realized his name was the same as the knighthood.” Dad went on like he hadn’t heard me. “ _ That’s my name! _ he said, all excited. I still remember the wonder in his eyes.  _ Do they all have my name, Daddy?  _ And so I told him our story. I told him how Adamas chose knowledge over the Half-Maker’s paradise and entered Hyle. Once here in the world, he was blessed with a son who became the first Patriarch, the first Seth. The appointed one.

“So it has been since ancient times. A father to lead his son, a son to lead his people.” The grove was totally silent. This was our oldest history lesson, and still the Brethren hung on his every word. As I watched him take command so naturally, standing in the light like some lion of a man crowned in seraphic flame, I realized I would never look like that. I wasn’t even sure why I was so certain of that fact, but I knew it to be true.

“For the last eight years, I’ve trained my son according to our tradition. I’ve watched him grow into his name, give everything he has to be the best he can be.” Our eyes met, and for a moment he was speaking only to me. “One day, my son, you will stand before our people as the Sword of the Saints, just as I do now. I know you will lead us in ways greater than we can imagine. It’s why your mother gave you that name.”

Damn it, Dad. I felt my eyes prickle, and had to look away to control myself. It wouldn’t do to lose my saintly composure after all that glowing praise.

Dad also seemed to gather himself for a moment before he went on. “But there comes a time in every young man’s life when he must step away from his father’s side and take his place among men.”

I always forgot how weirdly macho these ceremonies were. For a people who supposedly shunned the material world, we sure care an awful lot about traditional manhood. 

“We know among our people that a father will never see his son with unbiased eyes,” Dad continued, “so I ask if there is one who will welcome Seth into the brotherhood.”

Evan stood up. “I will.”

“Will you swear to me to be his faithful brother-in-arms?”

“I will.” His voice was strangely solemn.

Dad nodded. “And is there one willing to provide an instrument?”

“I will,” said Uncle Rudy, holding up the box.

“So be it,” Dad said. Was his voice a bit huskier than it had been a moment ago? Impossible.

Rudy and Dad switched places, and Evan and I stood before him.

“Sethary St. James,” Evan began, “Will you be a redeemer of the Damned?”   
  


Voice strong, I replied, “I will.”

“Will you be an avenger of the innocent?”

“I will.”

“Will you be a light in the dark?”

“I will.”

Evan reached for the box, and Uncle Rudy handed it to him. Evan clicked the top open, turned it so I could see inside. When I saw the sword my eyebrows shot up before I could school my expression. 

Inside was a falcata, the traditional weapon of the St. James line. My eye followed the gentle slope of the vanadic steel, the way the blade caved in near the hilt only to become convex again near the tip. Such a shape lent her the length of a sword with the heft of an ax, perfect for taking heads. There was no questioning why the empires of old would fear such a sword. Truly my uncle was a genius, and this lady had to be his finest work.

“Will you take up the sickle-sword of the saints?” Evan sounded like he was speaking just to me.

“I will,” I said, and I had no idea if anyone else could hear.

He held the box closer and I reached for the hilt. “As you claim this blade, know that your oath is sealed.”

And it would be, sealed in blood. With no hesitation, not even an experimental swing to taste the impeccable weight of her, I ran the blade down the mound beneath my thumb. It was a tradition among our kind. As a baby knows the blood of its mother, so too must  _ my  _ baby know mine. It would be the only human blood she ever tasted.

I held my bloody blade aloft. “For the Wisdom.”

“For the Knowledge,” came the traditional answer uttered in a myriad of voices. 

I fell into my inner spark with ease, the way we all could. The Spirit rose up from my center, filling my soul, flowing up my arm into the blade. She lit up a ghostly blue, and I knew the other Saints were seeing it too. She really was my Baby now.

I blinked away my inner sight, and dropped my arm once the glow was no longer visible.

And that was that, the ritual over with as little fanfare as it had begun. Some families began to trickle out, others would wait to congratulate me. 

“We should get that bound,” Evan said, referring to my palm. 

“Right,” I said, looking down at the thin red line. It barely hurt.

“Happy Birthday, nephew,” said Uncle, clapping my shoulder. “What do you think?”

“She’s amazing,” I said honestly, finally allowing myself to take a few swings. The edge hummed like a bell, chiming through the air. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

“Been working on her for years,” he said, gruff with embarrassment. “Only the best for my boy.”

“Thanks, Unky,” I said.

“I don’t see your grandfather,” Dad said, looking through the crowd.

“You’re not surprised, are you?” I asked.

“He should be here today.” Something in Dad’s voice made me think he wasn’t actually listening to me. He pulled out his phone, and started away. “I’m going to check in on him.”

I rolled my eyes. I’m sure everything was fine. 

“Congrats,” Beni called to me as she approached with Espy. “Little Sethary’s all grown up.”

“Bite me,” I said, but I was fighting a grin.

Beni clacked her teeth. 

“Congratulations, indeed,” Esperanza said. “To you both.”

They looked remarkable standing next to each other. Their old Spanish coloring gave them each strikingly pale skin and fiery hair. 

“Thanks, Espy,” I said.

Evan’s hand fell on the back of my neck. “He means to say, thank you,  _ Sister Magda _ .”

“Right, that,” I said. 

Espy shook her head, obviously not bothered. “Do you have any plans for your first mission, Evan?”

“Not precisely,” Evan replied. “Of course I’m open to suggestions.”

“I may have something for you,” she said. “But let’s get out of this sun first.”

“My house is closest.” I elbowed Evan. “Sister Magda.”

“What a shame you two don’t get along,” drawled Beni.


	2. The Mission

I strapped my boot knife in place with a sigh of relief. In boots, jeans, and a plain t-shirt I finally felt like myself again. The pieces of my suit lay scattered around my room like fallen soldiers, so eager had I been to strip out of it. 

A fresh bandaid lay across my palm. Evan had insisted on placing it there himself before I could change. With a centering breath, I told myself not to read too much into it.

Ready to face the world, I snagged a shirt from my dad’s room on the way downstairs.

They were just finishing up their gadgets as I entered the living room. While Espy was Beni’s companion officially, as Magda she was rather like a big sister to us all. Because of her leg, she didn’t take much to the field anymore. Instead, she’d been turning her brains to advancing the cause in other ways. Kind of like how Unky had become our brightest inventor, Esperanza’s tech wizardry had taken our mission to the next level. She could track all the Saints on jobs, hack official documents for us, and even use secret satellite surveillance to triangulate likely nests--and that was just the stuff I knew about. 

“Here.” I tossed Dad’s shirt to Evan.

He’d already taken off his coat and tie, but he caught the shirt in the air and headed to the kitchen.

Deliberately, I turned away from him to Beni. “All setup?”

“Think so.” Her voice was as casual as mine, but there was a knowing look in her eye.

Evan came back in Dad’s shirt, the button-down over his arm.

“Let’s begin,” Espy said, reaching for her tablet.

“Don’t we need to wait for--” I stopped. We  _ didn’t _ have to wait for Dad anymore. Evan was my senior partner now. “I mean, I’m ready.”

Espy flicked her fingers across the touchscreen, and news articles bloomed on the TV. Some were decades old or more, but they all had something in common. Each headline was a missing persons case, a man and a woman. With another swipe, a new batch of clippings flowed across the screen. Obituaries. Only the men were in them.

“As you know,” she began. “When I retired from the field I entered the fight in other ways--”

“You’re making it sound too boring.” Beni broke in, voice filled with pride. “Auntie’s been working on this database. She’s cross-referencing everything we know about the feeding and hunting patterns of the Damned with unusual deaths and disappearances all over the country. You know, looking for patterns where there shouldn’t be any. It’s really cool!”

“Traditionally we focus our efforts on urban areas.” Espy took over, much more modest than Beni. “The Damned can hide their victims as just another death in a city, especially one with a large transient or homeless population. A few weeks ago I changed my search parameters, and noticed something troubling in a small college town called Rossberg.”

“Rossberg…” Something pinged in my brain. “I think Dad and I have been through that area on jobs before.”

Maps and surveys popped up on-screen next, with a blinking light in the middle of nowhere.

“Richard does have a safehouse about thirty miles out of town limits,” she confirmed. “There.”

“A college town, you said?” I was starting to connect the dots. “Sounds like a transient population to me.”

“Exactly,” Espy said. “Ross University was founded in 1890. Since that time there have been twelve cases that can’t be explained away by normal collegiate shenanigans. Every ten years a young couple goes missing. The man later turns up dead. The woman is never found.”

“That’s why you wanted us,” Evan said. “Seth and Beni are the right age.”

“Let me guess,” I said. “This year is the year of the next attack, lucky thirteen, so we’ll pose as lovers and infiltrate the school.”

Beni blew me a kiss, and I rolled my eyes. 

“But how do we know they’ll take the bait?” Evan asked. “There’s, what, hundreds of kids on campus?”

“I’m O-neg, remember?” I said. “What leech will pass up an opportunity to feed on a universal?”

“I don’t like it,” he said. “There’s too many variables.”

“He sounds like you,” Beni teased her aunt.

“Since this is a recurring pattern, we can safely assume the Damned will have local contacts.” Espy ignored her. “If Seth donates at a blood bank, I imagine word will spread of a new universal in town.”

He was silent for a beat, then sighed. “I suppose you’ve already drawn up a dossier?”

“Out of hopeful preparedness,” came the gracious reply.

“Excellent!” Beni beamed, grabbing my wrist. “I’ll help Seth get packed.”

“The brief--” I tried to protest as she dragged me to the stairs.

“Oh, you can read it on the way.” She practically threw me in my room and closed the door. “All right, spill.”

“Spill what?” I rubbed my wrist out of theater.

Not that she cared. “What’s going on with you and Evan?”

I stared at her for a beat too long, and then headed to the closet to grab my duffle. “Nothing.”

“Something’s changed.” Her tone left no room for argument. “The... _ energy, _ or whatever, between you guys is different.”

Sighing, I tossed the bag on my bed. “Nothing’s  _ going on _ , but I did come out to him today.”

“No way!” Her eyes lit up, and she plopped down next to me. “And how’d he take it?”

“He--”  _ touched my face  _ “--took it fine, actually.”

“See?” She said, sounding quite pleased with herself. “No big deal.”

“Right.” I tossed an old sweater at her head. 

She ducked. “Seriously, though, I’m proud of you. What about your dad?”

Ice water splashed through my veins. “One thing at a time, Ben.” 

“I get it,” she said. “My dad’s not the most enlightened type either. He still thinks I’m a virgin.”

“It’s not really that,” I said. “I’m just not ready.”

“And that’s fair,” she said instantly. “It takes how long it takes, from what I hear.”

“If anything, I’m afraid he’ll act more okay with it than he really is,” I said. “Sometimes I think  _ he’s  _ afraid to let  _ me  _ down. He’s always tried so hard to be both parents for me, you know?”

“I do know,” she said softly.

We fell silent, both lost in our mama trauma. My hands found the clothes I wanted to take on autopilot. 

“Think Evan’s done picking apart the plan, yet?” asked Beni.

I laughed. “We should go rescue Espy.”

I held out the strap of my bag to her, picking up my weapons chest myself. Together we marched downstairs.

As expected both senior partners were flipping pages back and forth, murmuring to each other. 

“I think that will do it.” Evan looked up at me. “Ready to go?”

“All set.”

“Then let’s get to work,” he said. “The Damned won’t redeem themselves, will they, partner?”

_ Partner _ . 

I tried not to let the word do things to me. Evan and I were brothers now, and that was all we would (or could) ever be. Together we would free the spark of Spirit trapped in the Damned, like every other pair of companions. I would be the best partner any Saint could hope for, the best  _ knight _ , and Evan would never know I wanted to drown in his green eyes. He’d have no reason to think I wasn’t worthy.

“Let’s get to work,” I said.


	3. Nerves

I did read the rest of the files on the road. Well, I tried, but I’d never been in an enclosed space with Evan for hours at a time before. Like a complete freak, I was hyper-aware of his body next to mine. I couldn’t stop myself from drinking in every detail. 

He drove with both hands on the wheel exactly regulation width apart, no propping an elbow on the window for Evander St. John. Talk radio rumbled through the speakers. Just for background noise, mostly; he didn’t keep it loud enough to really follow along. 

After hours on the road, I could even smell the woodsy spice of him. Saints don’t wear fragrance, so he just smelled like that. Who smelled like that?

If Beni had come with us at least conversing with her could have distracted me, but she and Espy had basically already been ready to go. (They’d only been in Empyrean for my ceremony.) Evan had still needed to swing by the Johns manor to grab his equipment and change, so the girls had hit the road ahead of us. 

“You all right?” His voice shot through my thoughts.

I blinked over at him. “What?”

“You’ve been staring at the same page for a while,” he said. 

My head fell back against the seat with a sigh.

“Nervous?”

“...Yes,” I said honestly. “Yes, I am.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You used to run jobs with your dad, right? It’ll be just like that.”

It wasn’t the job I was worried about, but there was no way to tell him that. Time to change the subject.

“How close are we?”

He jerked his chin toward the window. “See that truck stop down there?”

HOLLY’S PLACE: BAR, GRILL, AND TRUCK STOP a huge neon sign proclaimed at the bottom of the pass. Its red and blue clearly shone in the fading light.

“Yeah.”

“According to Esperanza, your dad’s safehouse is about twenty miles past.”

“Thank Josh,” I said. “I need to get out of this car.”

He shook his head. “You never did like tight spaces, did you?”

“No, as a matter of fact,” I muttered. “Long car rides are the worst.”

“Oh, come on,” he said. “The Jameses are pilgrims. You’ve been all over the country with your dad.”

“Yeah, but I was a kid,” I said. “I slept for most of the ride.”

“Aw, does little Sethary need a nap?”

I closed the file with a huff. “Oh, shut up.”

He chuckled, and let it go. “You can call Beni or Esperanza if you want. They should already be there.”

“Are you really going to keep calling Espy by her full name like she didn’t babysit us back in the day?” I asked.

“She’s the Magda now,” Evan said. “She deserves respect.”

“Respect, sure,” I said. “But I don’t think she stands on ceremony much.”

“That’s her prerogative,” he said. “But the hierarchy exists for a reason.”

I flashed him a jaunty salute. “Yes sir.”

Throughout our journey, the topography had gradually changed the closer we crept to Rossberg. Hills turned into mountains, woodland became thick forests. It was beautiful country, similar to the lands around Empyrean. Maybe a bit more wild. Currently, we were making our final descent, spinning down a long mountain pass. We blew past the sign for Holly’s Place, and I thought I might have some vague memories of it as a kid. 

According to a green sign, we passed the turnoff for the town of Rossberg. We wouldn’t actually venture into town until tomorrow since the safehouse was out of town limits. 

As we finally came upon the house, I could instantly see a Saint’s hand in the design. A two-story ranch house sat upon a raised plot of land, the only thing visible for miles in any direction. There was only one way for vehicles to approach: a crunchy gravel road that made stealth impossible. 

The girls’ car was already parked out front, just as Evan predicted.

“Hey guys,” Beni said as we hauled our stuff inside. “Auntie’s already retired. She took the master since it’s ground floor.”

“Of course,” said Evan. “I would have offered it to her anyway.”

She waved us up the stairs. “There’s two rooms up here. Evan, you can take one as the senior partner. Us juniors’ll bunk--”

“Absolutely not,” he insisted. “What would your dad think if I allowed you to share a room with a boy?”

We both just stared at him for a second.

“Uh, Evan,” I said. “Remember what we talked about this morning?”

He gave me a look. “Yes, but are you willing to have a similar conversation with Saint Thomas?”

Turning to Beni, I shot her a  _ please-help-me  _ look. 

“Well, if you’re sure,” she chirped. “Good night!”

I glared at her retreating back until the door to her room clicked shut. Would a second-floor jump be enough to kill me?

Evan was already moving down the hall. “Must be this one.”

Slowly, I turned to follow him, hating my life with every step. Sitting beside him in the car had been tortuous, a heliotrope straining toward the light. How could I possibly share a room with him without losing my mind?

And then I walked into the room and saw the bed.  _ The  _ bed. One.

“Nice,” Evan said, setting his stuff down. “Queen size. Plenty of room for two.”

I swallowed hard. Bent over his bags, he didn’t notice. Releasing the quietest breath I could, I shuffled inside. 

Neither of us spoke as we readied ourselves for bed. Evan slipped beneath the sheets without a second thought. 

I, on the other hand, was reciting the driest bits of scripture I could remember.  _ Please, Saint Joshua, _ I prayed,  _ don’t let me embarrass myself. _

But if I stalled any longer it would be obvious to Evan that I was stalling. Maybe it already was. Gripping the covers, I pulled the blankets back and climbed in before I fled the room in panic.

Evan yawned and rolled so his back was to me. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I croaked, staring up at the ceiling.

This was going to be a long night.


	4. Day and Knight

_ TW: Awkward masturbation and feelings of sexual guilt. If these are triggering for you, please skip the bolded area. Be kind to yourself! _

Warm, everything was warm. Soft light floated in through the window over the bed. Even through closed eyelids I could perceive the nacarat hues of the golden hour. Swimming up to consciousness was a slow, peaceful breach with the sun on my face, and a warm body at my back--

My eyes snapped open. Languor vanished as I realized we were spooning, Evan’s arm thrown over my waist. During the night he must have rolled ove. I didn’t remember falling asleep, only staring up at the ceiling determined not to move. So much for that. 

I had mowed down entire rooms of the Damned, fearlessly infiltrated nest after nest, but none of my training had prepared me for something like this. Maybe I could slip out of bed and make a break for the bathroom. I had a certain morning issue to deal with, and the feel (and smell) of Evan all around me was not helping. 

Heat was creeping up my face, and this time I knew no amount of breathing exercises would make it stop. What on Hyle was I going to do?

And then he yawned, rolling over to stretch, making those lip-smacking noises people make before they’re fully awake. With his arm off my middle, I could finally move. I just had to sneak away before he…

“Morning,” Evan rumbled.

...woke up. Oh, Josh.

“Mo--” I squeaked, and had to clear my throat. “Morning.”

“Want the bathroom first?” he asked.

“Nope.” There was absolutely no possible way I could pull back the blankets right now. “You go ahead.”

“Sure?”

“Yes.”

And then he just lay there! Stretching some more, scratching his belly. Dad and I always woke with the dawn for training, so I wasn’t prepared for Evan to be a slow riser. Finally, he rolled out of bed, grabbed some clothes, and shuffled out of the room. 

**The second the door swung shut, I threw back the covers and pulled down my obscenely tented underwear. There was no time to think about what I was doing. I had no idea how long Evan took in the morning, and he could return at any moment. So I took myself in hand, furiously striping off like I needed the friction to start a campfire. This wasn’t about enjoying myself, just getting to a neutral state with a quickness.**

**Even so, I couldn’t deny that the intensity felt good. So good that there had been no reason to worry about the time. Biting my fist to muffle any noises, I came. My whole body froze, knees locking, toes curling as I blasted all over my chest. For a moment, all I could do was lie there trying to catch my breath.**

**Then the shame rolled over me in waves. Feeling sick to my stomach, I stripped off my soiled shirt. What was wrong with me, stroking one out to my (straight) partner like some kind of perv?**

**I held my left hand up over my face. Trailing my finger over the bandaid he’d stuck on my palm, I felt even worse remembering how adamant he’d been about it. Of course he wasn’t just beautiful, he was kind. How would he feel about what I had just done?**

**He could never,** **_ever_ ** **know about this. No matter what it took, I would stamp out these feelings out with everything I had. We were trained to dampen our emotions on jobs anyway, how different could it be?**

By the time Evan returned I was already dressed, sitting on the bed lacing up my boots. My old t-shirt was bunched up and stuffed in the very bottom of an unused pocket of my bag.

“Took you long enough,” I poked, all natural.

He shrugged, not all bothered. “Never said I was a morning person.”

When he’d opened the door, the smell of something wonderful had wafted in.

“Who’s cooking down there?” I asked, getting up.

“Beni, I think,” he said. 

“Didn’t know she could cook.”

We headed downstairs. Sure enough, Beni was captaining the stove. 

“Morning, sleeping beauties,” she said. “How’d you sleep?”

“Smells good, Ben.” I ignored her crack at us. If I told her I’d been awake she might want to know why I hadn’t come down sooner.

“Don’t get used to it,” she said. “I hate cooking.”

“We can take turns,” I said. “I can cook, too.”

She and Evan shared a look.

“I’ll get it tomorrow,” he said.

I glared at them. They both pretended not to notice.

“Good morning, brethren,” said Espy as she entered the kitchen.

We all greeted her as she sat at the head of the table. 

“Fresh squeezed OJ?” Beni slid me a tall glass of orange juice with my plate.

I stared down at it. “Did you really?”

She laughed. “No, dude. There’s a jug in the fridge.”

“Eat up, Seth,” said Espy over Beni’s antics. “You’ll need your energy for today. There’s a campus tour early this afternoon. When you’re done giving blood you and Beni should check it out, get a feel for the place. Maybe something strange will stick out to you.”

Despite my...weird morning, I was ready to start this mission. I may not know much about how to handle  _ feelings _ , but tracking down leeches was a snap. 

“I’m ready,” I said, digging in.

“I’ve sent the address of the blood donation center to your phone, Evan,” she went on. “While you take Seth there, Beni and I will visit the town library. They may have files in their archives that aren’t available online. I’m trying to construct a more complete timeline of the town, but there are a few gaps in the public records. We’ll have to go through things by hand.”

Beni leaned in and whispered, “Trade ya.”

“Sorry, Beni,” I said. “Only my blood has that little extra zing that makes ‘em sing.”

“Party pooper,” she grumbled. “How about you, Ev? I remember how you love all that bookish sh--”

“Bendis.”

“--tuff.”

“It would be an honor and a privilege.” He nodded at Espy. “But since it’s our first official mission, I should probably stick with Seth.”

“Rightfully so.” Espy still had Beni fixed in her sights. “And I believe you’re more than capable of reading old newspapers.”

Groaning, Beni flopped her head down on the table. Her aunt threw her eyes heavenward as if praying for strength.

I patted Beni on the back. “There, there.”

She flipped me off under the table where Espy couldn’t see it. 

We finished breakfast, cleaned up, and hit the road. It was finally time to see this Rossberg for myself. Hopefully it was worth the thirty mile drive. Everything around here seemed miles and miles apart, but I suppose that was common in rural areas.

At last we got close enough to see the town, and a large wooden sign just before.  _ ROSSBERG,  _ it said,  _ The jewel of the mountains.  _ That was all. Didn’t most entry signs say “Welcome to” or “Enjoy your stay” or something like that?

“That’s kinda weird.”

Evan glanced over at me. 

“Aren’t small towns supposed to be hospitable--”

Just as we passed the sign, a siren split the air. Blue-and-raspberry lights flickered to life behind us. A cop car had been waiting behind the unwelcoming sign.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Like so many affected by COVID right now, I'm out of a day job and trying to get back into writing full time. If you have the means, please consider supporting me on these various platforms: 
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	5. Welcome to Rossberg

Espy and Beni were behind us, so they kept going. That was standard operating procedure. No sense in all of us going down if the jig was up. Evan eased onto the shoulder and killed the engine.

“Why is he pulling us over?”

“Just stay calm,” Evan said.

Affronted, I drew myself up. “I’m always calm.”

It didn’t make any sense, though. Why had we been pulled over? Evan wasn’t even speeding.  _ Would  _ never speed. Saints didn’t call attention to ourselves like that. Even our vehicle was the most common make, model, and color in the country. (Espy’s was the next most popular so we weren’t driving around in identical cars.)

Through the rearview, we watched him exit his vehicle and swagger up to us in that typically condescending way. Gold glinted off a star over his heart. Not just some small-town Fife, but the sheriff. Why would the city sheriff be manning the speed trap? Surely he had better things to do with his time. By the time he was at the window, Evan had already rolled it down with his papers in hand.

“Good morning, boys,” the sheriff said. 

“Morning, officer.” Evan handed the man Espy’s impeccable forged documents. “Something wrong?”

“Well, that’s an interesting question.” He took Evan’s license and registration, but didn’t even make a pretense of looking at them. “I don’t reckon I’ve seen you around here before.”

“No, sir, we aren’t from around here,” Evan said, all respectful. 

“What brings you to our neck of the woods?” The cop had kept his mirrored glasses on, reflecting Evan’s face back at him.

“We’re in town for the RU tour,” Evan replied. “My little brother’s thinking of going here.”

Ouch. Although technically true since our ceremony, him calling me  _ brother  _ made me feel even weirder about...this morning. 

The sheriff glanced over at me, and even without seeing his eyes I could feel his consideration. “That so?”

“Yes, sir.” Automatically, I had squared my shoulders, deepened my voice, butched it up a little. Playing it straight was something I was used to after a lifetime among the Saints, and it seemed a prudent role to reprise right now.

“We’re proud of our ole school,” said the sheriff. “But it’s not exactly ivy league. How’d you hear about it?”

On the surface this was a perfectly reasonable question, but something about this whole encounter was ringing alarms. None of my unease showed on my face.

“Oh, they encourage you to apply everywhere,” I said easily, just another late teen entering adulthood. “I saw some pictures and thought the area looked nice.”

“It is nice country we got out here, good country.” He paused, then said, “God’s country.” I wasn’t sure what he was getting at, but he continued. “We do things a certain way around here, and it’s a way that’s been tried and tested. You know what I mean?”

“Uh, sure.” No, actually. “Most places have their own little traditions.”

“Traditions, that’s it,” the cop said. “Here in Rossberg we’re a real traditional bunch. We like our peace and quiet, and we take it real serious. We’re just a sleepy little town, at least when the college ain’t in session. We don’t like it when folks go around disturbing the peace. Be sure to keep that in mind, would ya?”

“Right,” I said slowly. “I’ll try not to disturb anyone. On a campus tour.”

We stared at each other, and I had to remember to keep some emotion on my face. Usually in the face of a threat, I would achieve our warrior’s stillness. But if there really was something off about this guy, I couldn’t go perfectly blank in front of him. 

“We understand, sir.” Evan cut in after what felt like forever, but was only a second or two. “I know how rowdy young guys can get. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

That made me slant a look at him. The cop did, too. Then he handed Evan’s papers back. He still hadn’t looked at them.

“That would be a good idea,” the cop said. “When kids get too much freedom, well, that’s how bad things happen. Isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir,” Evan said. 

“Welcome to Rossberg.” He straightened and touched the brim of his hat. “Have a nice day, boys.”

“That was weird,” I said once he was out of earshot. “That was weird, right?”

“He seemed a little intense.” Evan shrugged. “I guess.”

“You guess?” I couldn’t keep the incredulity out of my voice. “That was like something out of Beni’s cheesy old horror movies. You know, the kind where the creepy redneck shows up and tries to get the main characters to leave, but they don’t and then they all die--”

“Look, it’s a small town,” he pointed out. “The worst things he probably has to deal with are broken curfews and cow tipping.”

“...And murder/kidnappings every ten years,” I reminded him. “Espy said the Damned might have infiltrated the town, right? Who better to keep their secret than the local brass?”

Evan sighed. “I think it’s equally possible he saw a couple of unfamiliar characters and overreacted.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he held up a hand to cut me off.

“I’ll ask Esperanza to look into it while they’re researching today,” he said. “Will that assuage your paranoia?”

Evan was the senior companion. I had to follow his lead.

“Fine,” I said. “And I’m not paranoid.” 

“All right, then,” he said, firing up the engine. “Let’s get back on track. We need to spread the word about your blood, remember?”

“How could I forget?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toss a coin to your writer:
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> And PayPal: paypal.me/bday31
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> 
> Thank you, 
> 
> ~Seth


	6. Universal

**_Author’s Note:_ ** _ In the United States it is still illegal for men who sleep with men (MSM) to donate blood unless they have been sexually celibate for THREE MONTHS before donating. These restrictions do not apply to any other group, such as women who also have sex with men. Such policies are not in place for any health reasons, despite what agencies claim, and are simply based in the homophobic belief that gay men are more prone to disease than other populations.  _

_ The saddest part is, this policy is actually a recent move in direct response to the COVID pandemic. Before April 2020, MSM were banned--oh, I mean “deferred” unless celibate for an ENTIRE YEAR. If not for the emergency situation brought on by a literal global pandemic, this discriminatory policy would still be in place. With that in mind, on with the show. _

I’d never actually donated blood before. Turns out there was a bit of paperwork involved. I wasn’t worried about my information ending up somewhere. We all had legal names for just such an occasion, and Espy would delete any files that ended up online. 

There were quite a few college-aged kids in the waiting room. Supposedly the place also bought plasma. Why plasma was worth money and blood wasn’t was something I wasn’t exactly clear on.

I filled out the new-patient documents and returned them to the desk. Even though I hadn’t been there long they called my name fairly quickly.

A pretty black girl with a nice smile came out to meet me, her kinky hair pulled into a tight bun. She looked about my age.

“Seth Jacobson?”

“That’s me.” I stood up.

“I’m Cami.” She gestured. “Right this way, please.”

“You seem a little young for a phlebotomist,” I said as she led me to a room with a chair and a table, and not much else. This place didn’t seem very...medical.

“I’m actually not yet,” she said. “You have to practice so many times before you’re certified.”

“Uh, practice?”

She grinned. “Don’t worry, I’m great at it. I’ve actually been in the program at RU…” (she pronounced it “rue”) “...for a whole semester already. I graduated high school early.”

“Wow.” That actually did soothe some of my unease. “You must be really dedicated.”

“I’m not sure dedicated is the word,” she demurred. “I’ve always known I wanted to help people. I started in CNA, but there’s so many different med programs. I haven’t decided if I want to stay in nursing or not. But enough about me.” She held up her clipboard. “Let’s talk about you. O-negative is the most in-demand blood type, did you know that?”

“I did, actually,” I replied. “The universal donor, right?”

Cami nodded. “Your blood type is needed in emergent situations when there’s no time to find out the patient’s own type. O-neg has the lowest risk of complications.”

“That’s why I’m here,” I said. “Trying to do my part, and all.”

“We appreciate it,” she said, serious. “You could help save a life today.”

“I’m all about saving people,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

“Alright, then.” She clicked her pen. “I have this questionnaire I have to ask you per the federal government, and it’s important to answer with complete honesty. Okay?”

I nodded.

The first few questions Cami asked me were fairly boring general health stuff, if I was on any medications, things like that. Then if I had donated blood or anything else recently. All of that was fine, and then we got to the next round of questions.

“Okay, for this section,” she began. “I need to know if you can answer ‘yes’ at any point for the last twelve months.”

“Got it.”

“Blood transfusion?”

I shook my head. 

“Organ, skin, or bone marrow transplant?”

“Definitely not,” I said. 

“Bone or skin graft?”

“Nope.”

“Contact with another person’s blood?”

Another  _ person?  _ “No.”

“Accidental needle-stick?”

My lips twitched. “Uh, no.”

“Had sexual contact with anyone with HIV or AIDS or has tested positive for either of those?”

“...No.”

“Sexual contact with a prostitute, or anyone that takes money or drugs for sex?”

That was an oddly specific question, but I said, “No.”

“Sexual contact with anyone who uses needles not prescribed by a doctor?”

“No.”

It seemed like she hesitated before asking the next one. “Sexual contact with another male?”

I blinked. “Does that matter?”

“It shouldn’t,” she said. “But unfortunately it does.”

“What if I said yes?” I asked. “What would you do?”

“Well, legally we’d have to defer your donation,” she said.

“Defer,” I repeated. “You mean I couldn’t donate?”

She nodded. “Not until there had been twelve months since your last contact.”

Something hot and constrictive swam through my chest.

“Let’s make sure I have this right,” I said. “Even though I have a rare, high-demand blood type, if I was sexually active with other males you would refuse to take it?”

Silently, she nodded again. 

“Don’t you have to test all the donations for diseases and things anyway?”

Cami sighed. “Yes, we do.”

“Then why does it matter?”

“Because old white guys make the rules,” she said bluntly. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not fair. I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this, but I don’t agree with it either. Giving blood is one of the most selfless things you can do, and any healthy person that’s willing should be able.”

“But the world isn’t the way it ought to be,” I said, in more ways than she knew.

“No, it isn’t,” she agreed gently. “So is it a yes or no?”

“It’s a no,” I said.

I half expected her not to believe me, but Cami just marked the box and asked me the next question. Maybe she didn’t care if I was lying since she didn’t agree with the law. I  _ was  _ telling the truth, but how many guys in my position would be? Most eighteen-year-olds weren’t literal saints, and I was under the impression most hyletics didn’t make it to eighteen as virgins. 

The mission was all that mattered, I knew that. I would have lied if I’d needed to, but it seemed so wrong that I might have to. I wanted to march myself and all my gay blood right out of there.

But I sat and watched the bag fill up with red. 

“So most peeps our age are repeats around here.” Cami broke the silence. “But I haven’t seen you before. Ya new here?”

“I’m actually in town for the campus tour,” I said. “Thinking of going here this fall.”

A strange look flashed over her face for a second. Then it was gone. Another hyletic like her wouldn’t have seen it, but I did.

“What are your other choices?” She tried to keep her voice light, just making conversation, but she wasn’t quite good enough at it to fool a saint.

“What, sick of me already?” My voice, however, held exactly the right touch of humor. 

“It’s not that,” she said. “It’s just, Rossberg has its problems, ya know?”

Something prompted me to ask, “Like the sheriff?”

“Christ, that asshole.” Her grimace was completely genuine. “I’d say he gives cops a bad name, but sadly Ross is pretty standard.”

“Ross?” I felt the prickle of excitement. “As in--”

“His great-whatever put the Ross in Rossberg.” She rolled her eyes. “And the whole fam never let’s you forget it. It’s all about having the right last name around here. Small town politics.”

“I’m familiar,” I said. 

“It’s kind of gross, to be honest,” she went on. “There’s this whole founding fathers fellatio festival every summer. Everyone shows up to this town square BBQ and dance off thing. If you can call a bunch of rednecks moving their feet in a square  _ dancing _ . It’s tomorrow night, actually.”

“You don’t say,” I murmured. 

“It’s such a drag.” She leaned in and muttered, “I’d skip it if I could, but they talk shit about you for weeks if you don’t go.”

Despite myself, I cracked a grin.

“Anyways, looks like we’re done.” She fixed me up, pulling out a small juice and a muffin. “You can take a few minutes if you need. Some people get woozy afterwards. Do I need to call a ride?”

“No, my..” (I couldn’t say  _ brother _ , cover be damned.) “...friend is driving.”

“Perfect.” She stood up, picking up the bag of my blood. “Well, I better get this chilled. Thanks for coming in today. Really.”

“I’m glad I did,” I said. It wasn’t even a lie.

I finished my muffin before heading back to the lobby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toss a coin to your writer:
> 
> Venmo: SethRGray
> 
> Cashapp: $SethRGray
> 
> And PayPal: paypal.me/bday31
> 
> Any little bit helps! 
> 
> Thank you, 
> 
> ~Seth


	7. The Web Tightens

“What’s the matter?” Evan asked as I got back in the car, his strong brow wrinkled in concern. 

Apparently I was a little more thrown by the questionnaire than I thought. Schooling my face, I said, “Nothing. What’s up with Beni and Espy?”

“They’re still researching,” he said, those damnably green eyes searching me. “You were only in there for like twenty minutes, so we’ll go meet them at the library. Are you sure everything--”

“Everything’s fine,” I snapped, then instantly regretted it. “...I’m sorry.”

He sighed. “Look, I know I’m not Beni, but you can trust me.”

“I trust you,” I said.

A skeptical brow arched.

“I do.”

“Really,” he said. “We’ve only been partners for about twenty-eight hours, and it already feels like you’re not fully in this.”

I gaped at him before I remembered to snap my mouth shut. “Of course I’m in this. Fully, completely in this. I’ve been training for my first partnership my whole life, it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Then why does it feel like you’re keeping something from me?” He turned in the driver’s seat to face me, and I was struck with the knowledge that he was trained in every way that I was. I’d always known that, of course, but watching him read my body language was a new experience for me. Only Dad had ever seen through me so easily before.

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t come up with a lie quickly enough.

He shook his head, starting up the car. We pulled away from the curb in silence, his eyes forward.

A tentative hand reached toward him. “Evan, I--”

“Unless whatever you’re about to say is the truth, I don’t want to hear it.”

His voice came out harsher than I’d ever heard it, and I actually shrank back a little. My hand flopped back into my lap.

All I wanted was to prove to Evan that I was a good companion, and I’d done the total opposite. Now he thought I didn’t trust him, but that wasn’t the reason at all. When Dad told me Evan was to be my partner, it had seemed like a dream come true. How had it become such a nightmare?

I couldn’t tell him the truth. I  _ couldn’t.  _ He had reacted reasonably well when I’d confessed about my orientation, but it was one thing to be theoretically okay with me liking men, and another thing entirely to be okay with me liking  _ him.  _ Besides, there was no real point in telling him. He’d never be able to like me back. This was just something I had to work through until it went away. 

But I had to say something to smooth this over. He couldn’t think I didn’t trust him. We’d never function as a unit like this. I could tell him about the questionnaire, how small it had made me feel. It wasn’t a lie, just not the whole truth.

“Evan, please listen,” I began, only to end in a yelp as the car swerved to the right, shooting down an alley. 

“What the hyle?” I pushed myself up.

“It’s not me,” Evan said, pulling on the steering wheel with all his might, but it didn’t budge. His foot pumped the brake to no avail. “Nothing’s working.”

“The key!”

He grabbed it, but it wouldn’t turn. “It’s stuck.”

I took a deep breath, released it. All the cares that had been so dire only moments ago melted away as I fell into my spark. The true sight flickered to life over my regular vision.

I gasped. “Evan, look!”

Even in the light of day I could see a sparkling web of magic, golden like pixie dust, surrounding the car. Wavering lines criss-crossed over us before winding together like a cable and shooting down the alley. This spell, or whatever, was literally dragging us somewhere. 

Evan leaned closer to the window. “What does it say?”

“What?” I squinted, and it was only then that I saw it.

The net was made of little rows of Asian characters, woven together like a thousand tiny chains.

“What are they?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “Chinese, I think.”

“As Beni would say, screw this!” I held my hands up, fingers curling into the Benediction. As I whispered the Fathers of our Fathers under my breath, blue light kindled between my hands with each name--

“Wait.” Evan grabbed my wrist and my concentration shattered, banishing the true sight.

“What are you doing?” I tried to shake him off, but his grip tightened. “Let go.”

“We can’t dispel it, yet,” he said. “We don’t know what will happen.”

“But we have to do something,” I protested.

“What if we can’t get the car under control fast enough?” As if to punctuate his words, we rounded another sharp corner. “Saints can die in a car crash just as much as a hyletic can.”

He had a point, but still. “So we do nothing?”

“Not nothing,” he said calmly. “We wait, and prepare, and seize our moment when it comes.”

“ _ If  _ it comes,” I said. “Maybe we’re being dragged off a cliff.”

“I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “Whoever has power like this could have just killed us if they wanted.”

“Jee, that’s comforting,” I muttered. 

“My point,” he continued, “is if they wanted us dead, we would be.”

My free hand flapped at the glowing letters. “What is all this, then?”

“I have a feeling we’ll soon find out.” A pointed glance fell on his hand still around my wrist, and then back up at me. “Okay?”

I sighed. “Okay.”

He let go of me, and I resisted the urge to rub my wrist.

“The town isn’t that big,” he said. “Wherever we’re going isn’t far. Then we’ll see who’s behind this.”

My hand slid between my seat and the console where Baby in her sheath lay waiting for me. When my hand closed around her hilt I instantly felt a little more in control.

“Fine,” I said. “We’ll wait.”

As we traveled the town began changing. Buildings were older, different styles of architecture, more obviously in need of repair here and there. I also noticed signs on walls or windows in the same possibly-Chinese as the web around us. (At least, it looked the same to me.)

“I think we’re slowing down,” Evan said.

“Finally.”

The car zig-zagged down a few more turns, and then stopped at last outside the back entrance of a Chinese restaurant. Song of the East, according to the sign. On the steps leading up to wide double doors, a diminutive Asian woman in a smart pants suit was watching us. There was something wrong with her face, a splotchy scar over one eye. 

“Is that who…” I trailed off in disbelief.

With a click, the key turned itself off. No one was touching it. Even Saints get goosebumps. 

“Must be,” said Evan. “Ready?”

I nodded. “Let’s do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toss a coin to your writer:
> 
> Venmo: SethRGray
> 
> Cashapp: $SethRGray
> 
> And PayPal: paypal.me/bday31
> 
> Any little bit helps! 
> 
> Thank you, 
> 
> ~Seth


	8. Mrs. Song

Evan slid out of the car, face placid as any Saint could hope for. I made to follow him, fist still clenched around Baby, but as I went to stand up I was suddenly jerked backwards.

“Uhn!” I grunted as I came down hard on the seat, feet scrabbling at the pavement. “What the?”

I tried again, slower, and this time I saw what was happening. My entire body could exit the vehicle no problem, except the hand holding Baby. She rebounded against an invisible barrier. Frowning, I pulled harder. She vibrated against the unseen force, but still couldn’t pass. 

“There will be no need for swords,” said the old woman on the steps. 

“Leave it.” Evan was watching her, but he turned his best senior-partner face on me.

Gritting my teeth, I had to force myself to open my hand. Baby thunked down onto the seat, looking forlorn and abandoned. Feeling petty, I made no attempt to put on a Saint’s expression. As I came around the car, I was openly glaring at the tiny woman.

“We’ll talk inside.” Saying nothing else, she turned toward the doors of the restaurant.

When they opened at her approach, I tensed, but it wasn’t more magic. Tall guys in black slacks and white button-downs, like waiters or busboys, stood on the other side. I guess it was just a stereotype that all Asians were short. After Evan and I passed through, the guys pulled the door shut behind us. The back of my neck prickled as they watched us go by.

Cacophony greeted us: food sizzling, knives chopping, voices calling out orders in a rapid language. The whole scene was like something from a fast-paced five-star, not a small town take-out. 

We followed the old woman down a tiled corridor to a small office. The normalcy of the space was almost disappointing after the ordeal in the car, just a small room with a computer desk and a couple chairs. 

“Sit.”

Ever the picture of our people’s ideals, Evan moved to the chair and sat down. I was a beat behind, palms still itching for Baby’s reassurance. Stiffly, I took the second seat.

Up close her scar was clearly a splash mark covering her entire right eye and part of her cheek and forehead. The eye in the center was cloudy and lifeless, a bit lazy like it didn’t work at all. Then she looked at me, and I recoiled. Not because of the scar (several Saints had sacrificed an eye to the mission), but because  _ both  _ of her eyes fixed on me. Somehow I knew the blind eye wasn’t so blind after all. 

“You,” she said. “You’re the scion.”

I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t answer if I wanted to, petrified by that unblinking, seeing-yet-unseeing eye.

“No.” Evan threw his arm between us, breaking her stare. Trying not to cough, I sucked down a few shaky breaths. “I’m the senior partner. You’ll speak to me.” She turned her gaze to him instead. To his credit, Evan was unphased. “Why don’t you tell us who you are, and what you want?”

“I am Mrs. Song.” Her mien was that of a general addressing the muck. “What I want is for you to leave.”

“We mean your people no harm,” he began, but she rolled right over him without even raising her voice. 

“And yet, harm always follows your profession.” It wasn’t a question.

Evan tried again. “We’re here to help.”

“We don’t need your kind of help,” Song said. 

“People are going to die. Soon. We can stop it.”

“When have you ever stopped anything?” She gave a humorless smile. “ _ Avengers _ of the innocent, you call yourselves. Not defenders.”

“Because we don’t usually get there in time to stop it,” Evan said. “This time we can.”

“You won’t,” she said flatly.

“We can try.” His voice was still calm, but firming up.

They stared each other down for a long, silent moment.

“Do you know who suffers when slayers and vampires go to war?” asked Song.

“Who said anything about war--”

“Everyone else.” Her calm declaration cut right through Evan’s protest. “You sweep across the earth like a nuclear cloud, leaving the fallout to rain down upon the rest of us.”

“That isn’t true,” Evan said quietly.

“It’s more true than your own name,” came the rejoinder. “The so-called saints claim to be removed from the world, and yet act as if you are lords of it, as if your very presence grants you jurisdiction wherever you happen to be. Not here.”

“This isn’t some territorial dispute.” For the first time there was a spark of heat in Evan’s voice. “People are going to die.”

“And why should that bother you?” she asked. “Isn’t mortality a fate worse than death to your people? Isn’t that why you call the undead the Damned? To be reunited with the fullness of spirit in a world greater than this, that’s what you fight for, slayer. Death, not life.”

I knew I should say something to help him, but I wasn’t sure how. She seemed to know so much about us, and we barely knew her name.

“If you wish to be apart from this world, be so. Leave it to those of us who live in it.”

“Respectfully, ma’am.” Evan had banked his temper. “We  _ are  _ in this world, just not  _ of  _ it.”

“We  _ are  _ in the ocean, just not wet,” she mocked. “Spare me from the propaganda of children.”

For the first time, words failed him. That hit me where it hurt more than anything. All of my unease vanished as a cloud of anger rolled over me.

“We have a job to do,” I barked. “And we’re not leaving until it’s done.”

Evan went still beside me.

“The truth at last.” The barest suggestion of a smile, of victory, turned the corner of her mouth. “Not a holy commission, but a job to perform.”

My ears burned. “That’s not what I--”

“What my partner means--”

“Enough!” She raised her voice for the first time, just enough to cut over us. “For over thirteen decades my family has protected the ignorant mortals of this town, and we have never needed the support--or permission--of the slayers to do so.” She flicked her fingers toward the door. “You will leave by nightfall. Never return.”

Without another word, Evan stood and reached for the door. I shot up to follow. 

“Seth,” she said, and I froze. “Names have meanings, scion. Do you know yours?”

_ Chosen _ . The answer came easily in my mind, I’d always known, but I clenched my lips together to avoid giving her the satisfaction of an answer. But as I scurried after Evan, I was sure she already knew.

The wall of noise rose up immediately as I left the office, surreal after the quiet menace of Mrs. Song. Despite her lack of stature, she had more than made up for it with sheer presence. 

Evan was already almost at the end of the hall, and I picked up the pace to reach him. The same two busboys stood waiting to grant us egress. We stepped outside and I could breathe easier. 

My partner didn’t stop to enjoy the fresh air, heading straight for the car. Bracing myself, I followed. Once inside the cab, his hands landed on the wheel, gripping tightly.

“I said I would do the talking.” His voice was flat and hard.

“I was just trying to help,” I started, but he cut me off again.

“Help?” He wouldn’t look at me, staring out the windshield. “We just looked like utter fools in there, like the children she thinks we are.”

“She already hates us,” I said. “All the Saints, apparently.”

“I’m not talking about her,” he said. “I’m talking about  _ you _ . Once again James the Younger thinks he can do whatever he wants.”

“That’s not fair,” I said.

“Fair doesn’t matter when it’s true,” he scoffed.

“I’m sorry,” I said lamely.

“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “Just do what you’re told. I’m the senior partner.  _ You  _ answer to  _ me _ . It’s not that hard.” 

I couldn’t say anything to that, staring at my clenched fists trembling in my lap.

“Oh, now you have nothing to say,” he said, turning the key. The car rumbled to life as if it had never been enchanted. “Why don’t you practice keeping quiet until we join Esperanza? It might help you remember how this is supposed to work.”

Heat prickled at my eyes, and I squeezed them shut. We left the alley in silence. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toss a coin to your writer:
> 
> Venmo: SethRGray
> 
> Cashapp: $SethRGray
> 
> And PayPal: paypal.me/bday31
> 
> I would really appreciate it!


	9. Intel

I thought being stuck in the car when Song had dragged us around was the worst car ride of my life. I was wrong.

The atmosphere inside the cab was suffocating and I wanted to scream. It wasn’t my training that kept angry tears from falling, for I was too jostled to reach my inner spark. Pure stubborn pride kept my eyes dry, but it only made my angrier that I even wanted to cry. 

It only took about twelve minutes to drive to the old town library from Song’s restaurant. Rossberg County Library was a large building, sorta squat but with tall roofs almost like a church.

We parked on the other side of the lot from Espy’s car and Evan killed the engine with a sigh. 

“Seth--”

I left the car, speed walking to the building. Maybe I was the worst partner on planet Earth, but I couldn’t hear about it anymore today. Behind me I heard the door open and then Evan walking, but I didn’t turn to look. 

Beni was waiting just outside the doors, fiddling with the end of her long copper braid. Hey eyes ping-ponged between us.

“There you are.” She sounded relieved. “Auntie said something was wrong, are you guys okay?”

I shrugged.

“We’ll tell you inside.” Evan answered when it became clear I wasn’t going to say anything.

“Okayyyyy.” Beni swirled around, taking the lead. “We’re in a research room this way.”

She led us to a small room on the main floor where Espy was typing notes into her computer. Esperanza sat at the head of a long table surrounded by comfy chairs. There was a flatscreen on the wall behind her. When Beni led us in, Espy glanced up and sighed in relief.

“Thank Josh you’re alright,” she said. “The Spirit moved through me and I knew something had happened.”

We each pulled out chairs. I sat by Evan because it would have looked too strange if I hadn’t. 

“We were delayed,” Evan began, “by some kind of powerful magician.”

He explained what Song had done to us, and the conversation after. By the time he was done, Beni’s eyebrows were nearly in her hairline. Even Espy allowed her lips to press into a grim line. 

“Lemme just get this straight,” Beni said. “She just reached out and grabbed you? She didn’t have a personal focus from either of you?”

“I don’t see how,” Evan replied. “Neither of us have been here before.”

“From what I know of magic,” Espy said, “that’s nearly impossible unless she has dedicated the entire town to her ritual space.”

“She said her family had been here for years,” Evan said. “So that seems possible.”

“Which means she could cast on us while we’re anywhere in town,” Beni said darkly.

“A significant complication,” mused Espy. “There are hymns and psalms knights used in the past to dispel magic. We’ll have to look them up.”

“The Songs of Simeon.” I spoke up for the first time. “I have a copy at the safehouse. It was my mother’s.”

“Of course,” Espy said. “Sera was a Simon. I should have remembered.”

Beni asked, “Do you remember any of them?”

I hesitated, then said, “Nothing that would protect us from Song.”

Several passages had helped me sleep as a child whenever I’d had nightmares, but that was nobody’s business. The parts about evil spells were by far the minority of the chapters, and I couldn’t remember much about them.

“We’ll have to take a look at it later, if you don’t mind,” said Espy. “For now, let’s finalize our plans.”

“What have you ladies discovered,” Evan asked. 

“Not as much as we wanted,” Beni replied. “There is a definitely-not-suspicious lack of old records in the town history section, but knowing about Song puts some things in perspective.”

“Rossberg was officially founded in summer 1885,” Espy began, “but it had existed as a mining camp and railroad stop for some years before that. All areas with those industries relied heavily on Chinese immigrants back then, which explains the town’s large Chinese American population.” She clacked some keys and an old newspaper clipping appeared on the screen behind her: FIRE IN CHINATOWN. “Now, in winter ‘84 a huge fire broke out in the Chinese camp. Hundreds of people died. The survivors appealed to their white neighbors for aid, but none was forthcoming.”

“There were even accusations the fire was set deliberately,” Beni put in.

“By all accounts it was a hard winter for everyone in the area,” continued Espy. “Disease ravaged the white encampment, killing nearly as many people as the fire had. Desperation drove months of hostility and feuding until it seemed like open violence would break out. A man named Aaron Ross supposedly brokered peace, making each side see that they needed each other to survive the winter. Thus, Rossberg was born. The town was officially recognized in the summer, which the town celebrates to this day.”

“The founding festival,” I said. They all turned to look at me. “My nurse Cami mentioned it was getting my blood drawn. Apparently it’s a big deal. Like, social shaming if you don’t go.”

Beni and Espy shared a look.

“The murders always happen around the festival, I presume?” Evan said.

“I should have seen it before,” Espy said. “The dates change because the festival is always the third weekend in July, and the bodies turn up a few days later.”

“The festival is tomorrow night,” I said. “We’ve only got a day plus for Beni and I to attract the ‘right’ kind of attention, and we still don’t know who they are.”

“Song knows who they are,” Evan pointed out. “That must mean there are others who know the secret, too.”

“If they know, why don’t they try to stop it?” I asked.

“Two deaths every decade,” said Beni. “I imagine, compared to the death toll leeches usually leave, that would be an acceptable loss to almost any leader.”

...Leader. I remembered the other thing I’d learned from Cami.

“The sheriff,” I said. “He’s a Ross. That must be why he was so weird this morning. He knows something.”

Esperanza’s fingers were already flying across the keys. “Looks like a Ross has held a position of power, either on town council if not the mayor, for most of the city’s history. The last few decades, as the American tendency to over-fund the police department has risen, the Rosses started running for sheriff instead.”

“So our only leads are an extremely powerful sorceress or a gun-toting conspiracist?” Beni rolled her eyes. “That sounds great for us.”

“Not our only lead,” said Espy. “You two might still discover something at the college. That place seems to be at the common denominator concerning the victims. Speaking of, Evan why don’t you take them that way for the tour.”

Something about the way she said it made him ask, “And what will you be doing?”

“I think I’m going to pay a visit to Mrs. Song.”

All three of us began protesting at once.

“Esperanza--”

“No, Auntie--”

“Espy, not alone--”

But the Magda only smiled, and held up a hand. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be just fine. See to the mission, Young John.”

Evan sighed. “Yes, Sister Magda.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toss a coin to your writer:
> 
> Venmo: SethRGray
> 
> Cashapp: $SethRGray
> 
> And PayPal: paypal.me/bday31
> 
> I would really appreciate it!


	10. High School Sweethearts

Since Beni was going with us, I sat in the back with her. Evan didn’t say anything about it and I didn’t ask, giving him the silence he’d asked for. Maybe I wouldn’t screw that up this time.

Beni slid across the seat, linking our arms. “So, babe, how long have we been dating?”

“Well, obviously we’re high school sweethearts going to the same college.” Despite my piss-poor day, Beni was as infectious as always.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she said, snapping her fingers. “We totally have a marriage pact for graduation.”

“Better yet,” I said. “We get married at graduation.”

“Just imagine it.” She put her hand over her heart. “Walking to accept our diplomas in beautiful gowns.”

“Both of us in gowns?” I asked.

“It’s the twenty-first century, get into it.” She waved her hand. “That’s why I come out as a lesbian and leave you at the altar.”

“You mean at the podium.” I grinned.

She laughed.

“Don’t you think you two are getting a little extravagant?” said Evan from the front.

“Nonsense,” Beni sniffed. “All the best actors method.”

“I see,” Evan said in a tone that suggested he probably didn’t.

“Maybe he’s right,” I said in an attempt to smooth things over with my partner. “We should craft a real backstory, just in case.”

“Oh, trust me,” she said grandly. “I have been doing this longer after all.”

“By a whole couple months,” I said.

“And my partner  _ is  _ the Magda,” she said. “I have learned a few things.”

“Playing that card,” I groused.

RU was on the outskirts of town. If our theory about Song’s influence was correct, that made sense. She seemed to consider herself the protector of the town, so the feeding grounds would have to be outside the borders. Thinking of Song made me wonder how Espy was doing. We should never have let her go in there without backup, direct orders be damned. 

“Hey.” Beni jostled me. “Auntie’ll be fine.” How did she always know what I was thinking? “She’s faced way scarier stuff than some old lady.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, but for just a flash, mine and Evan’s eyes met in the rearview. Espy  _ was  _ the Magda, but Song was...something else.

As we got closer to the campus, we didn’t have to wonder where to go. Traffic cones were set up with signs taped to them. From the main gate we just followed the arrows for our time slot. The parking lot was almost full of cars, more than I thought there would be for a campus tour. Must be a summer session. 

“All righty.” Beni sounded legitimately eager as we pulled into a spot. “You ready for this?”

I was. The familiarity of a mission, even just a recon one, was exactly what I needed to get my head on straight.

“Let’s do it.”

As we got out of the car, I shot a look around. Quick, casual, yet taking in every detail. We were trained to absorb information with a single glance, the best way to be prepared for anything. But then something happened I didn’t expect. 

“Seth, wait.” Even threw open his door and stood up.

I just stared. He was supposed to stay out of sight, what was he doing?

“I, uh…” He didn’t seem to know either, standing in front of me with his mouth working like he couldn’t find words.

“I think we’re supposed to sign in over there.” Beni pointed. “I’ll just...go do that.”

“I just--about before,” he started.

“Evan, I get it,” I said. “I won’t undermine you again, okay?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” His face, strained and awkward, reminded me of my confession in the woods. Had it really only been yesterday? Felt like weeks. “I know this hasn’t gone as smoothly as either of us hoped, and that hasn’t all been your fault. I’ve been frustrated, that’s all. Whatever wall you’re keeping up between us won’t come down if you can’t trust me.”

“We really don’t have time for this right now.” I glanced around, but nobody was paying us any mind.

“Let me finish,” he said. “I just wanted to let you know that you can tell me anything. Whatever secret--”

“Is that what this is all about? Still?” Something snapped, and before I could stop myself I stepped closer, palmed both sides of his face, and pulled his mouth down to mine. He didn’t stop me, and our lips touched. Every secret wish I’d had since I was at least fourteen was really happening.

I kept it chaste, no violin-swelling make-out. Just a quick, nice kiss. His lips were soft and warm, and despite the PG rating it was one of the best moments of my life. I pulled away, blinking my eyes open to his stunned expression.

“Now you know,” I murmured, and went after Beni.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've been enjoying the series, please consider joining my Patreon,
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/sethrgray
> 
> Or tossing a tip,
> 
> Venmo: SethRGray
> 
> Cashapp: $SethRGray
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> And PayPal: paypal.me/bday31
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> Contribution is greatly appreciated, but not mandatory.
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> Thanks!


	11. Enter the Serpent

Beni was trying valiantly to act like she hadn’t been watching us. By the way she was vibrating in place, I knew she had. 

A building with a sparkling white edifice had set up a table with a clipboard, some baseball caps, and a bunch of those little buttons you pin to your chest. Behind the table sat a girl so stunning, she almost put Beni’s old Andorran charm to shame. 

The girl’s hair was a sunny blonde shot through with expertly spaced white-gold highlights. A heart-shaped face was perfectly set off with eyes so icy blue she looked perpetually aloof. ZO proclaimed a sticker on her chest.

Beni was standing a few feet away from the table and the supermodel manning it.

“Here, babe,” she said, handing me a hat with the RU logo on the front. “Put this on backwards.”

“Like this?” Feeling ridiculous, I smashed it down over my unruly mop. Curls waved out from beneath the perimeter, misbehaving even in a hat. 

“Your look is complete.” Her voice was slightly higher pitched than normal, and I was seized with an evil urge to see how long until she cracked. If she was going to pretend she hadn’t seen the kiss, so was I.

“Don’t forget your buttons,” said the blonde girl in an old Hollywood starlet’s butterscotch rasp. 

I saw now that the pins were printed. He/Him, She/Her, and They/Them were the three options, though the last one didn’t make any sense to me.

“They?” I held one up. “Why would you need one button for multiple people?”

“Because you don’t,” said the girl. “They is used in places of mixed or uncertain gender. In English, that usually means plural usage, but singular they goes back as far as Shakespeare. Gender fluid or gender neutral people often use they/them as a personal pronoun, and our school welcomes people regardless of gender identity or expression.”

“...Oh.” I set the button down. “Guess that’s why you go to school, right, to learn new things?”

“Right,” Zo said, flicking her eyes over me.

“Come on, honey.” Beni rescued me. “Our group’s over there.”

“Let’s go,” I said, and started off. 

“So what was that all about?” she asked in a low voice as we walked away.

“Sorry, I didn’t know singular they was a thing--”

“Not that!” She hissed. “What’s going on with you and Evan?”

That was fast. Smothering a smile, innocent me said, “I don’t know what you could mean.”

Her eyes flashed, but we reached our tour and she couldn’t respond. I counted it as a win anyway. Wasn’t often Beni was rendered speechless, even by circumstance. Just to be cheeky, I laced our fingers together and sent her a dopey lover’s smile. Her response was more of a baring of teeth, and I had to laugh.

“Hey guys,” came a masculine voice from behind. “Can I get your attention, so we can get started?” We turned, and my breath caught. I didn’t think this guy had any problems holding anyone’s attention. 

Approaching us was one of the few men I’d ever seen who was  _ almost  _ as pretty as Evan. They even looked a little alike, though wildly different. Each shared a similar jet black hair color, but then they diverged. 

This man’s features were broader, almost Slavic, higher cheekbones and wider forehead. Where Evan’s frame eventually nipped in at the waist, the vision before me was solid all the way down like a well-drawn superhero. (But in a good way, not a gross nineties comics way.) Their biggest difference was in the eyes: not Evan’s heartbreaking sea glass, but a playful chocolate. 

In fact, this guy was  _ too  _ good looking, he had to be Damned. Only, I saw no tell-tale blue circle of contacts covering vampire black. This was another reason for our observational training. Staring deeply enough into someone’s eyes to scan for lenses would probably get weird if you couldn’t do it in a split second. 

To anyone observing, me turning to look at him would seem completely normal, just like everyone else in the tour. Our eyes met only for an instant as he looked out over the group. 

But somehow, I got the strangest feeling, he noticed me, too. 

“My name is Ira,” that deep voice said, like he was speaking straight to me. “And I’ll be your tour guide today.”

Beni squeezed my hand, and I saw her ever-so-slightly tip her head in his direction. So she was having similar thoughts. Could it really be that easy? Literally the first person we met on campus was Damned? Then again, what was better than their effortlessly beguiling nature to increase school attendance? 

It was unlikely a vampire old enough to hide his eyes without contacts could still walk in the sun, but not completely impossible. We needed a way to find out for sure, but until then it was time for Beni and I to put on a show.

At the same time I slid my arm around her waist, she tossed hers around my neck, and then we were standing too close together like those disgusting, clingy couples. 

“So before we begin,” he said, pointing to the sign-in table. “This is the two o’clock general tour for prospective students. If you’re looking for a specific department tour, they’re listed over there. Just ask my lovely girlfriend, Zo, and she’ll hook you up...

“I don’t see anyone leaving, so I'm going to assume we’re all in the right place. Or your anxiety makes it too embarrassing to leave, which, same.” He grinned, and a couple people chuckled. “Well, whatever reason you’re here, I’m glad to have you, and happy you’re thinking about Ru.” (He also said it ‘rue,’ like Cami had at the blood draw.)

“Our first stop is right here.” He spread his arms, arms buff enough to stretch the fabric of his t-shirt  _ just enough  _ without being in danger of splitting the material. “The main entrance is one of our oldest endowments. Given in 1900 by one Mrs. Dorothy Vale, whose son tragically passed away before he could start classes here. In his honor she donated not just the money for the project, but also several tons of white marble from her family’s personal quarry.

“She had only two stipulations.” He gestured to the white building beyond the sign-in table. “One, that the stone be used to make a building that was actually for the young people and not the prestige of the college itself. Thus we still use this as the main hall of the Student Union to this day. And two, that a memorial angel be installed in honor of her son. That’s in the student courtyard, which we’ll get to later. 

“Fun fact: in the earliest writings, angels are depicted as neither male nor female, just like some people aren’t.” He jingled the He/Him button on his shirt. “We don’t judge based on gender around here, either. All right, this way now.” 

Ira led us away from the union hall, up a small road where the buildings got markedly more modern. 

“There’s quite a few moving stories like Mrs. Vale’s in Ru’s history,” he continued. “We’re a small community that looks out for one another, but let’s focus on something you guys will actually care about.” He wasn’t heated, just rueful. “This block was just finished last year, part of a multi-million dollar reno intended to deck us out in the latest technological advances. A brand new computer lab, remote conferencing rooms, and a rec center with all the latest video game platforms were all included in the contract. We’re all about combining the best of traditional education, with all the high-tech bells and whistles students need and expect.”

We went around the perimeter of the main campus with Ira’s deep, easy voice making an otherwise standard tour worth listening to. From what little I knew of ‘higher education’ Rossberg University seemed pretty typical. 

As we walked, Beni and I hammed it up. We were constantly touching, simpering at each other, walking with our hands in each other’s back pockets.

After about a half hour we came to a large grassy area, well tended, with benches and trees planted every few feet or so. In the middle, sunlight gleaming off the marble, was a stone angel.

“This is the memorial statue I told you guys about earlier.” He swept his hand over the space. “The non-denominational angel has become something of a mascot for the school, being dressed for spirit week, local traditionals, and all major holidays. It looks a little naked right now, but during the school year the poor thing never gets left alone. You may notice the stone is the same marble as the front of the building. That’s because we’ve ended where we began. This is the student courtyard, behind the union. 

“And that’s the tour, guys, gals, and nonbinary pals. You guys can make your way back to the parking lot on this path or through the union.” He beamed out over the group. “Thank you so much for coming, and I hope to see you all back here this fall.” 

I slowed as we passed the statue, something about the angel catching my eye. Its eyes were closed, head bowed, the wings bent inward around the body. In one hand it held a scroll, and a book was in the other. Then it hit me.

“Beni, look,” I said, slipping my hand out of her pocket to step closer. 

“What?” She followed me.

“Can’t you see?” I kept my voice pitched low, to avoid attention. “It’s Raziel.”

She looked the angel over. “You sure?”

“The Angel of Secrets,” came at a pleasant voice at our backs.

We flinched, neither of us had heard Ira approach. Maybe he really was a vampire.

“Apparently Mrs. Vale considered education a mystery to be unraveled, not a gift to bestow.” He smiled, all friendly. “Raziel’s one of the more obscure ones. How did you recognize it?”

“Not that obscure,” I said. “I mean, not like Cassiel or something.” Instantly I wanted to kick myself. What dumb straight boy knew who the Angel of Tears was? “I, uh, come from a real religious family.”

Ira grinned. “That’s definitely a deep cut. He’s the one who cries over dead kings, yeah?”

“Not just kings,” I said. “Priests, prophets, sai--”

“So what’s there to do for fun around here?” Beni asked brightly, and I realized what I’d almost said. “If we decide to go here, we’re gonna need to blow off steam. When we’re not studying, of course. Right, baby?”

“Right, honey.” I put my arm around her shoulders.

“Well, officially I can tell you about the street dance tomorrow,” he said. “The whole town shows out--”

“And  _ un _ officially?” She canted her head up at him, a little flirty. 

“I might know a certain responsible guy hosting a party at his family’s lake house afterwards,” he said smoothly. “Just so the people who are gonna party anyway do so safely.”

“Why, it’s practically a public service,” she drawled. 

“You’ll both come right?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it, man,” I said. 

“Here’s my number.” Snatching up my hand, he pulled out a marker and scribbled his digits on the back. “Text me after the festival. I’ll give you directions.”

“Yeah, I will,” I said.

“Well, gotta go get ready for the next tour.” With a jaunty salute, he wandered off.

When he was sufficiently out of earshot, even if he  _ was _ Damned, Beni muttered to me, “Okay, he’s gotta be our guy, right? No human’s that pretty.”

“Let’s get back to Evan,” was all I said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've been enjoying the series, please consider joining my Patreon,
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/sethrgray
> 
> Or tossing a tip,
> 
> Venmo: SethRGray
> 
> Cashapp: $SethRGray
> 
> And PayPal: paypal.me/bday31
> 
> Contribution is greatly appreciated, but not mandatory.
> 
> Thanks!


	12. Come to Josh Meeting

“We’ve got a lead,” Beni announced as we ducked back into the car. “There’s this guy--way too hot to  _ not  _ be a serial killer--and he told us he throws a party after the festival.”

“That’s not exactly how I would have framed that,” I muttered.

“That’s it?” Evan’s doubt was obvious. “He’s hot and throws parties?”

“Tell him, Seth,” she said, but didn’t actually pause so I could talk. “Super hot, connection to the time of the murders, boom--vampire. It all adds up.”

He sighed. “Sure, why not? Makes about as much sense as everything else in this town.”

“We got his number.” She held up the back of my hand. “So tomorrow night we can swoop in for the kill.”

“We have tonight and tomorrow to prepare.” His voice changed. “You know that means.”

“No,” said Beni. “What does it mean?”

Groaning, I fell back against the seat. “Training.”

***

Sweat poured out of my whole body. I was made of sweat, the sweat and I had become one. Nothing human remained, I had become a purely BO-powered elemental. Dad’s gym had not disappointed Evan’s standards, sprawling out over the entire basement. Enough modern equipment to please any gym rat stood next to ancient warrior mannequins. Weapons of all sorts hung on the wall.

The sacred circle and its various degrees and inner rings graced the floor. Each layer told us the proper distance we needed to be from the Damned to have enough time to react. Grade school stuff, really. 

Espy had called us as we’d left the school, confirming that she was just fine but hadn’t learned anything new from Song. Same old story with the old woman: Get Out Or Else. 

She’d arrived at the safehouse about the same time we did, and Beni and I related what went down at Ru. Unlike Evan, Espy seemed to look upon our plan to meet at Ira’s with more favorable eyes. I’d fished my copy of my mother’s hymnal out of my bag and handed it over. She would look it over while we hit the basement. 

Then it had been straight to training. We’d baptised every piece of equipment in here with a layer of our perspiration, following Evan’s lead for the reps. Currently Beni and I were sparring in the inner ring of the sacred circle while he circled, yelling instructions. 

“Seth, watch your circle!”

I was  _ trying _ , but keeping proper distance from Beni when my whole body felt like the red glow in a body cream commercial was almost more trouble than it was worth.

“Come on, juniors. I’ve hit every machine in here, too.” I wanted to throttle him, so help me. “Let’s make it interesting. Last man standing gets first shower.”

As one, without even thinking about it, we both turned and charged at him.

“Hey!” He went down with a laugh, and then we were all sprawled on the floor. “You cheated,” he huffed.

“You say cheat,” Beni wheezed. “I say won.”

“Won,” I gasped in agreement.

Evan chuckled. “Can’t argue with that, I suppose.”

Beni seized her moment. She rolled off us, propping a hand on her knee to force herself up. “Looks like I’m last man. Later, nerds.” And with that, she staggered up the stairs.

“Now,  _ that  _ was cheating,” I grumbled.

“Mhh-hmm.” Evan’s chest rumbled beneath my cheek-- _ oh, my Josh I was stillontopofhim!  _

There had been no time to freak out about the kiss after it happened, but now it hit me. I had kissed Evan. I had  _ kissed  _ Evan. I had kissed  _ Evan. _ Red blanched over every particle of my skin as I rolled to the side. Beneath a surge of humiliated adrenaline, all fatigue ran screaming. Just like I wanted to do. But he caught my wrist before I could get fully upright.

“Seth, wait.” He sat up. “Please? We need to talk.”

PANIC! “Evan, I--”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

I blinked. “What?”

“That’s what I was trying to say in the parking lot,” he said. “I was too proud to just say it. I should never have spoken to you the way I did at Song’s, and I’m sorry. She scared me.” He admitted it like the fact pained him. “I don’t do scared well. I turn it into anger, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Utterly speechless, all I could do was stare.

Gently, he asked, “Will you bolt if I let you go?”

I shook my head, and he released my wrist.

“You’re not mad at me?” I asked, voice more uncertain than I would have liked.

“I never was,” he said. “I don’t think you realize this, but being your partner is a big deal.” Off my skeptical look, he added, “No, really. You’re going to lead our people one day, and it’s my job to finish your training so you can do that effectively. That’s a lot of pressure, you know?”

“I...I guess I never thought about it like that,” I said, thoughts whirling. 

“I’ve been so focused on being a good senior partner that I was too in my head about it,” he went on. “Then nothing went the way it was supposed to, and I reacted poorly. Can you forgive me?”

“If you can forgive me,” I returned. “I’ve been trying too hard, too, and it made everything worse.”

“I imagine carrying around a secret every day isn’t easy, either.” He gave me a look. “About the kiss...”

“Oh, Josh,” I moaned, burying my face in my hands.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked softly.

“Because I never wanted you to know,” I said through my fingers. “It’s my stupid crush, it wasn’t your problem. Besides it’s not like there’s anything you can do about it, and I didn’t want it to change anything between us.”

“Well, I can think of one thing that  _ has  _ to change.”

Alarmed, I looked up.

“The sleeping arrangements,” he finished. “I would never have made us share a bed if I had known about your feelings. That was pretty insensitive. Uh, sorry about that, too. To be fair, though, I can’t properly react to a situation I don’t know anything about. So let’s make a deal. I won’t shut you down like that anymore, and you’ll be honest about  _ whatever  _ you’re feeling, even if you think I won’t like it. Deal?”

“Deal.” Relief flooded through me. Evan knew I liked him, and he didn’t care. Wouldn’t treat me any differently, would actually treat me  _ better  _ because he knew. I felt so foolish for keeping it from him. “Wait, are you saying I can room with Beni?”

“Uh, one amendment to our deal,” he said. “Don’t tell Saint Philip about this.”

I grinned. “Deal. Again.”

“I do care about you a lot, Seth.” Now he looked embarrassed, in that way men always did when they tried to talk about their feelings. “You know that, right? That’s why I want to know what you’re going through, even if it’s about me.”

“I know,” I said. “Thanks.”

He nodded, and stood up. “Now, I think I’m gonna go use the shower in Esperanza’s room.”

“Hey!”

***

“Hey roomie,” I said entering Beni’s room in my PJs after I  _ finally  _ got a chance to shower. “They’re letting us bunk after all.”

She was meditating in the monk’s position, still-wet hair wound atop her head. She cracked an eye open to deadpan, “I sleep in the nude.”

“Me, too,” I chirped. “What a coincidence.”

She snorted, then relaxed back into her form. I brought my stuff in, and settled back against the bed. Originally I was going to wait for her to finish, but then I decided I was in the mood for more immediate gratification.

Casually, I said, “Evan knows.”

Beni leaped off the floor like a spring had popped out of her ass. “No way.”

“Way.”

“How’d he take it?” She lay next to me, propping her head on her hand. “Did ya kiss again?”

“Yeah, no,” I said. “I think I’ll stick to kissing guys who’ll kiss me back from now on.”

“Gotcha,” she said. “So it was more of an ‘I love you, just not like that’ kinda thing?”

I nodded. “Pretty much word for word.”

“Aw, well. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” I said. “It feels good to finally have that off my chest. ‘Sides, I always knew he was straight. No harm, no foul, and all that.

“Awww.” She ruffled my hair, and I ducked away. “They do grow up so fast.”

“Oh, knock it off,” I scowled. “I’m only a couple months younger.”

“Yeah, but that’s like five years in gay,” she pointed out.

“How do you know?” I tried not to laugh.

“I’m your best girlfriend,” she said vastly. “It’s my job to know.”

We kept up our banter as we got ready for bed. After a rocky start, things were looking up. Beni and I were roomies, Evan and I were finally communicating, but best off all, I could finally get a full night’s sleep. (If only I’d known how wrong I was.)

**Author’s Note:** In a previous chapter, I mistakenly referred to Beni’s dad as Saint Thomas, but St. Thomas is Espy’s last name. Although she’s her niece, Beni is a St. Philip. I had a brain fart, but it’s fixed now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	13. ...Who Has Eyes to See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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> Or tossing a tip,
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**_TW: Body Horror! Beware the italicized section_ **

***********************

  
  
  
  


__

_ The earth is cold.  _

_ Cold at Her center. Not molten, but freezing. At least in Phlegethon there is light, but in Cocytus all is dark.  _

_ Dark and heavy, ever sinking, plummeting, falling through the void, landing never. _

_ Never piercing the other side. Buried alive is drowning, the medium of solid earth instead of water.  _

_ Water would fill my lungs and end this agony, but the earth does not move within me. I move through Her, though the pressure is so great I never move at all. _

_ All is silent until my own voice rends the blackness, and I scream and scream. How, I do not know, for there is no air to form words, and yet I scream. _

_ I scream as eyes open in my skin blinking in terrified wonder each blink like two hands pulling on either side of a wound and they keep appearing erupting out of my arms and legs and the side of my face each a working eyeball staring around me in all directions a dizzying flood of stimuli even though there’s nothing to see nothing but the deep black press of earth on all sides and I try to force these eyes closed but my skin just tears and more eyes form in the gashes so all I can do is scream and scream and suffocate and scream until my own voice is echoing back at me  _ **_W A K E U P W A K E U P W A K E U P W A K E_ **

“--Up, Seth!” Evan shook me, his hands on my wrists. “Wake up, buddy, I’ve got you.”

I was sobbing, tears coursing down my cheeks in sleep, and I had to suck in a harsh breath to stutter, “...Evan?” 

“That’s it.” His tone is so soothing I sag against him, not even caring about anything as his arms wrap around me. “That’s it, it’s okay. Just a nightmare.”

Wait, what was he doing here? As the immediacy of the dream faded, I was able to to peer around with a little more coherence. Beni was standing beside the bed, eyes wide, hand over mouth. (She didn’t sleep in the nude after all, just a cami and boy shorts.) We were still in her room, our room. 

“Josh,” I breathed, mortified. “M’so sorry.”

She sat next to us. “Are you okay?”

I needed to disentangle from Evan, but I just wasn’t up to it yet. So I nodded. He wasn’t wearing a t-shirt, I guess he didn’t when he was alone, so I was directly against his skin. But I was too pale and shaky to blush.

“What happened?” he asked, still gentle. “Did something trigger it?”

“Dunno,” I mumbled to his skin. “Just have ‘em sometimes.”

“Must be some nightmare,” said Beni. “You were kicking, thrashing...screaming.”

“That’s why I bolted in here,” Evan said. “It sounded like someone was killing you.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Sorry.”

“Hey, nothing to be sorry for,” he said. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Beni asked. “Sometimes it makes it easier to deal with.”

There was no way to put the terror of the airless crush of the earth into words, exactly, but I could try. I sat up, drawing away from Evan. 

“I’m claustrophobic,” I said, speaking more to my lap than either of my friends. “You guys know that. Ever since I was a kid I’ve had this recurring dream. I’m...trapped in the earth, and it’s dark and cold and pressing down on me--” I broke off, shuddering. No words would even form to describe the eyes splitting open my body. That particular horror would have to stay mine.

“Josh…” whispered Beni.

“Guess I would scream if I was being buried alive, too,” said Evan, rubbing my back. 

“Sorry,” I said again. “Guess I picked the wrong day to switch rooms, Ben.”

She sighed. “I mean, that was intense, I won’t lie. But I’m glad it was just a dream.”

“Me too,” I said softly, hating the way dreams always felt so real while they were happening.

All of us jumped as Beni’s phone chimed, illuminating the room with a ghastly glow. With the screen lit up I could see the time.

“Jee,” I groaned. “Is that what time it is?”

“It’s Auntie.” Beni’s thumbs slid across the screen. “She just wants to know if you’re okay.”

This time I did blush, dropping my forehead to palm. “Didn’t mean to wake the whole house.”

“None of us mind,” Evan said. 

“I mind,” Beni smirked. “What would my father say to you being in here half naked?”

Evan looked down at his boxer briefs, and did seem a little embarrassed, but he played it off. “Next time I hear screaming, I’ll throw on a full three-piece. Happy?”

“I mean, I’m fine with the view, actually,” she purred.

“Okay, and I’m out.” He stood up, and even in the dark I could tell he was blushing.

“Thank you,” I said. “For coming to check on me.”

“It’s what partners do,” he said. “Good night. Hope you sleep better.”

“Night,” I said as he shut the door behind him. 

“Thought he’d never leave,” joked Beni as she flopped backwards. “Come here, boo boo.” I laid down and she wrapped her arms around me, resting her chin on my head. “This okay?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Reminds me of when we were kids, always passed out hard on top of each other.”

She laughed. “The good old days, eh?”

“Yeah,” I said. 

It didn’t take long for her to drift off again, but I didn’t begrudge her the sleep. I knew it would be a while before I joined her. The chthonic nightmare was nothing new. In a strange way I was almost used to it, like an old friend you got used to hating.

But the eyes…

I’d never dreamed about the eyes before.


	14. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've been enjoying the series, please consider joining my Patreon,
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/sethrgray
> 
> Or tossing a tip,
> 
> Venmo: SethRGray
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> And PayPal: paypal.me/bday31
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> Thanks!

The aromas woke me. Slowly, I opened my eyes, yawned, stretched. I was alone in bed. Beni wasn’t even in the room, but that didn’t surprise me. The sunlight beaming in was too pale and yellow for dawn. They’d let me sleep in. For once, I needed to. The nightmare had mostly faded, and no further terrors had muddied the night.

My stomach rumbled. Whatever was cooking down there smelled marvelous, so I rose and dressed. 

“Hey guys,” I said, clomping down the stairs.

“‘Bout time.” Beni looked up from her sword (a vicious kilij) that she was sharpening on her lap. “We waited as long as we could to start breakfast, but we’re starving.”

“I take it you slept well?” Evan, fully dressed, tossed over his shoulder as he manned the stovetop. “I mean, after?”

He seemed genuinely worried, so I let out a small smile. “Much better. Thanks.”

“I’m glad to hear it, too.” Espy sat at the head of the table, as was her wont, my mom’s songbook beside her. On a notebook she’d sketched out several groups of concentric rings, Xes and various lines and numbers had been doodled over them as if she’d been charting battle forms.

“Diagrams for training?” I asked, taking a seat.

“Sort of. Maybe one day.” She tapped the hymnal. “I’ve been going through your mother’s book. Most of her notes make me believe these chants must actually be sung in time with Simon-specific techniques to be effective. I’d love to have more information, but Saint Simon hasn’t taken to the field since your mother…”

She cleared her throat. “Anyway, if I can find ways to make our forms more rhythmic, you might be able to combine these hymns with your regular fighting style.”

“That’s...wow,” I said faintly. 

Her lips tugged. “No promises, yet. It’s slow going, and I’m not even sure it’ll work.”

“Your grandpa never taught you any of this stuff?” asked Beni.

“We aren’t close,” I replied. “Dad never thought it was a huge priority, either. Not much magic around these days. I’ve never even heard of any real person with power like Song’s.” My pulse quickened at the thought of having a chance against her magic.

“Our mission isn’t Song,” Espy said, sensing my line of thought. “This is only a precaution should she interfere again.”

“Esperanza’s right.” Evan brought the food to the table, easily balancing multiple plates like a professional. “Some time tonight two people will be attacked by the Damned. We need to make sure those two are you two.”

“Which is why we’re going to Ira’s party tonight,” Beni said, digging into her food with gusto.

“He’s still unconfirmed,” Evan said.

“No, he’s not.”

“Sounds like you two have already fought about this today,” I said, amused. 

“They have,” Espy sighed, trailing off as she glanced down at her notebook.

“We aren’t fighting,” Evan said.

“We found a new clue,” Beni started.

“Say that part first!”

“All the victims were transfer students or paid out of state tuition.” She carried on over my affront. “None of them were native darlings of Rossberg, which makes us even tastier targets.”

“As I said earlier,” Evan cut in. “None of this is confirmed. There are just over twenty victims from a school of a thousand at least. That’s not a high enough sampling, it could just be coincidence.” 

“It’s  _ not _ ,” Beni fired back. “Can’t you feel it? We’re on the right track.”

“The sheriff said they like things quiet,” I mused. “Then Song told us not to help. All the victims were outsiders. What if the players in town made a devil’s bargain?”

“Sacrifice the foreigners to save the locals.” Beni sounded triumphant. “That’s what I said, too.”

“Traitor,” Evan grumbled at me.

“Sorry, Ev,” I tipped a shoulder. “Just makes sense to me. Humans do have a tendency to be horrible to each other.”

“But we’re assuming so much,” he protested. “We don’t actually  _ know  _ any of this.”

“And that’s life,” said Beni. “Sometimes you can’t know, you just have to take a leap of faith.”

“Faith is a Pauline virtue,” he countered. “Knowledge is better.”

“It’s just an expression, Evan.” She sounded exasperated. “Of course knowledge is  _ better _ , but it’s not always  _ possible.”  _

“It may be possible with more information,” Evan said. “Did you even look at him with the true sight?”

Beni stifled a growl. “It was the middle of the day. Too bright to see Spirit.”

“I think Evan has a point,” I said. “Ira is still our best lead,” I continued before she could attack, “but we do have to be mindful of what he’s saying. If we go in there thinking we already know it all, we could miss something.”

“And I hear that,” she conceded. “But this is happening  _ tonight _ . If it’s not Ira, we’re--” her eyes flickered to her aunt “--screwed.”

“We don’t have time to run a-whole-nother investigation by tonight if Ira’s not the one,” I agreed. 

“So let’s confirm if he is or isn’t,” Evan said. “Right now. With hours to spare.”

“How?”

“We have his number.” Beni grinned. “Ask him out.”

“I can’t ask him out,” I said. “He has to think we’re a couple. And he has a girlfriend.”

“If he’s a vampire that literally doesn’t matter at all,” she said. “Besides, he was already flirting with you.”

“He was not,” I protested.

She wasn’t having it. “Of all the people in the tour, he walked right up to you and wrote his number on your hand. Guys don’t do that unless they’re flirting.

Evan’s eyes focused on me, and I could feel my blood trying to heat, though I wasn’t sure why.

“Beni’s right.” He sounded perfectly reasonable, almost the same mild-mannered tone he’d used on Song. “If we’re gonna wrap this up tonight, then we need to know.”

All of them were looking at me now. Even Espy.

“What...do I say?”

“Anything.” Beni smirked. “Doesn’t matter. He’s already interested, you just need to give him a reason to act on it.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Ask him to meet you somewhere for lunch,” Espy offered. “You’re new in town and don’t know where to go.”

“Ooh, yeah,” Beni said. “Lunchtime will give us a couple hours to get you cute.”

I swallowed. “Cute?”

“Just leave it to me.” She was already leaving the table. “Call him already.”

I cast Evan an almost pleading look, but there was no mercy there. He just nodded. With a pit in my stomach, I pulled out my phone and thumbed Ira’s number.

It started ringing.


	15. Long and Short of It

“Hello,” rumbled Ira’s voice in my ear, just as rich and deep as I remembered.

“Uh, hi,” I said, keenly aware Evan and Espy were still watching. He waved his hand in a ‘go on’ gesture. “It’s Seth, the guy from the tour yesterday? I don’t remember if I actually said my name, but anyway you gave me your number and said I should call you after the festival. I mean, it’s still before the festival, but…” 

I ran out of air.

“Yeah, I remember you,” he chuckled. “What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you were free,” I said. “Later. Ah, if you were free later. Lunch, later. I mean--”

Evan facepalmed himself.

“Hey, Seth?” Ira rolled over my trainwreck like velvet. 

My eyes squeezed shut. “Yes?”

“Do you like hiking?”

One cautious eye opened. “Yes…”

“Have you seen the big diner on the overlook outside town?”

I flapped my hand at Evan, and he lifted his face from his hand. “Holly’s right?”

“That’s the one.” His voice still held a hint of laughter. “There’s this nature trail in the forest around the lake. One end of it starts in the woods behind the diner. We can meet there, see the sights, and then head back to grab a bite after. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds...great.” I hoped I sounded sincere enough.

“Great,” his warm voice agreed. “Let’s meet in an hour, yeah?”

“An hour,” I said as the line went dead. “An hour? That’s not lunchtime.”

“He took the bait?” Evan asked.

“Yes.” My voice sounded strangled, even to my own ears. “We’re going hiking, then lunch. Apparently.”

“Hiking?” Beni froze halfway down the stairs, looking down at the clothes in her hands. “This won’t work then.”

I frowned. “Did you go through my clothes?”

“Come with me.” She blithely ignored my question. “Good thing I always have a Plan B.”

With a sigh, I began my gallows march. 

Beni was rifling through her own bag by the time I reached our room.

“Yes!” She cried. “I knew I brought them.”

‘Them’ referred to a scrap of khaki fabric. My brain needed an entire seven seconds to realize the scrap was a pair of shorts. 

Eyes widening in alarm, I opened my mouth to protest. Before I could make a sound, Beni tossed the shorts to me and dove back in her duffle. I caught them by reflex.

“Don’t just stand there,” she said. “Put them on.”

I held them up. “They’re too short.”

“Well, they aren’t called ‘longs,’ are they?” She snarked. “Ah, this too.”

Knowing it was hopeless, I dropped my jeans and pulled on the...no, ‘shorts’ was too generous. More like ‘tinies.’

“My extra sleep shirt.” She handed me one of those loose shirts that come pre-softened so they’re practically see-through. Loose on Beni, at least. On me it would be as tight as an undershirt.

“Absolutely n--”

“Great.” She resumed her rummaging. 

Grumbling, I switched my t-shirt for Beni’s. As suspected, it molded to my skin.

“I’m not so sure about--”

“One more thing,” she practically sang. At least she was enjoying herself.

It was a sweatband.

“Is it the 80s in the woods?”

“Shut up and put it on.”

Josh help me.

“Now…” She pushed the bedroom door closed, revealing the full-length mirror on the back.

I gaped at myself. “I look...I look…”

“ _ Fuckable _ is the word you’re looking for,” she said with great satisfaction.

“ _ Beni! _ ” I gasped, but it was true.

The headband wasn’t as hokey as I feared. Instead it pulled my stubborn curls back just enough to give my forehead some shape. My hazel eyes popped more, or maybe they were just bugging out of my skull.

“I know,” she trilled. “I’m a genius.”

“Genius?” My pitch started to rise with every word. “I can’t go out in  _ girls’ clothes!” _

“You can’t go out in a t-shirt and shorts?” She drawled.

“Not these ones!” I hissed. 

Every bit as transparent as it looked, the shirt revealed my nipples like two pink coins. Yes, pink. I could see their color through the fabric.

And the shorts! Oh, Josh, they came down an inch or two (maybe!) below my buttcheeks. The front was even worse. Obviously not made for someone with a bulge, my natural endowments (not even supernatural, or anything) stretched the material to a degree I wasn’t sure was legal. 

“I can _ not _ wear this.”

“You were an infiltrator before, right?” She asked. “You never looked sexy?”

“I never looked like the pizza delivery twink,” I snapped.

“Oh, good,” she said. “You know what a twink is. Just act like that, and this’ll go great.”

Swallowing hysterical laughter, I pinched the shirt away from my torso. “You can see some of my scars right through this thing.”

“Most leeches like scars,” said Beni calmly.

Desperately, I tried, “And look how pale my legs are.”

“They’re  _ vampires _ , Seth,” she said. “They’re all pale.”

“Beni, I can’t--”

“Seth, you look great. Trust me. Ira’s going to--”

“Don’t say it!”

She grinned. “Eat you up.”

I groaned. 

“If you’re quite done making excuses?” She grabbed my hand and pulled me back downstairs.

“Ta-da!”

Evan looked up at her announcement. “You all d…” his voice died.

Every inch of my skin scalded as his eyes traveled over me until I was bright red from head to toe.

I grit my teeth. “Don’t you  _ dare  _ make fun of me.”

“I wasn’t.” His voice was...odd.

“See, even the straight boy likes it,” said Beni cheerfully. “We better get a move on.”

“There is no  _ we _ ,” I sputtered.

Evan cleared his throat. “Seth’s right. I’m his partner. I’ll go.”

“Um, actually,” I began, “I need to do this alone.”

“No,” he said. 

“Evan, think about it,” I said. “How will I explain showing up with another guy?”

“We’re brothers,” he said. 

“I haven’t gone on many dates,” I said. (Or any, really.) “But I feel like most people don’t take their siblings.”

“He won’t even notice me,” he insisted. 

“In a busy parking lot maybe,” I said. “But if he is Damned, there’s no way he won’t see you if he’s there waiting just for me.”

His jaw worked. “You can’t go in the field with no back up.”

“It’s not the field,” I said. “It’s just lunch.”

“With a potential vampire,” he said. “This  _ is _ a job. How will you get confirmation on your own?”

I held up my left hand, showing him the band aid he’d placed there himself. “I have an idea about that.”

“This isn’t procedure,” he said.

“We had a deal, remember?” I stepped closer, channeling my resolve into my eyes. For some reason, his own were darker than usual. Emerald, rather than jade. “I’m trying to be honest, here. I’ll never be able to do this if I know you’re watching.”

We stared at each other. Then he sighed, passing me the keys. 

“Be safe,” he mumbled. 

I nodded. “I will.”

Turning away from him, I headed to the door. I glanced over to say bye to Beni, but she wasn’t paying attention. She was watching Evan, a strange smile on her face.


	16. Embarrassed

Maybe coming on my own  _ wasn’t  _ such a great idea. I had to practice my breathing all the way out to Holly’s, some thirty minutes or more. 

The big sign was visible first from this direction, too. Soon as I saw it, a spike of nerves pulsed through me, despite my breathing.

I wasn’t even sure why I was so nervous. Then I caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview.

Oh, yeah.

But I resolved to get past my outfit and get my head in the game. Despite my...costume, my lack of arms (besides my boot knife), and zero back up, I needed to treat this like any other job. 

It hadn’t taken an hour to dress and drive out here, so I should have plenty of time to scope out the place. The building itself seemed pretty standard (in ‘foresty’ tones of brown and green), with a large parking lot. I parked in a spot removed from the handful of cars, and got out to look around.

Around the back of the building there was a big white boat of a car parked in an employee space. The pavement dissolved into a spit of dirt, and just beyond lay the tree line.  _ Ray Lake Nature Trail _ a helpful brown-and-gold sign informed me. I could see the trail, lined with logs on either side, as it snaked through the trees and out of sight.

Sure, let’s go trekking through the woods with a man I didn’t know. That was a little nuts even if he  _ wasn’t  _ a vampire. Beni would rattle off some serial killer statistic...yeah, it was for the best I was on my own. 

The back door of the diner popped open. Startled, I spun around, raising my fists--

Ira, in a white Holly’s logo t-shirt, stepped outside, carrying two huge trash bags. He froze when he saw me.

“Seth?”

I kept my hands in motion so instead of making a fist, I splayed my palm over my heart. “Oh, my gosh, you scared me.”

“Sorry,” he said, still standing in the doorway. His eyes slowly climbed my body, but unlike with Evan I didn’t let myself be embarrassed. 

“I know I’m a little early,” I said. “I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get here.”

“Oh, it’s no problem.” He hoisted the trash. “Give me a sec?”

I smiled. “Sure.”

He jogged over to an enormous dumpster and tossed the bags in. Seemed he had no problems lifting two restaurant-sized garbage bags. Evidence of vampire strength, or was I seeing what I expected to see?

“Didn’t mention you work here,” I said as he returned. 

“Actually my mom owns it,” he said, almost bashful. “I like to help her out when I can.”

“How sweet.”

“I guess so.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I still have a few more things to take care of inside. Would you like to come in and wait?”

“Oh, uh,” My resolve about my clothes lasted a whole five minutes. “I’m not really dressed for diner air.” His eyes crinkled like he was trying not to grin. “I think I’ll just hang out here. Do some stretches before we start.”

“Okay,” he said, losing the war with his grin. “I just need to help Mom get the shift switched over, and then I’ll be good.”

I nodded, and he slipped back inside.

Once he was gone, I went back to the car. Aside from my boot knife, I hadn’t brought many weapons. In this ridiculous outfit there was no place to hide them. However, Uncle Rudy had recently perfected a taser hidden as a phone case. Electricity will fry almost anything. Even the gods killed monsters with lightning bolts. A vampire wouldn’t  _ stay  _ dead from electrocution, of course, but at least I could get away if I had to. 

I snapped the case on. The taser’s prongs were hidden in cartoonish devil horns that curved out of a purple heart with wings. Yes, Unky had made it just for me. Hopefully I wouldn’t need it (the power surge would cook my phone beyond repair), but better safe than sorry.

I slipped it in my pocket. Well, tried to, but girl pockets are only like a centimeter deep. Half it stuck out.

“Stupid Shorts,” I muttered.

***

When Ira reappeared, he had changed clothes: khaki shorts (which hit him at the knee, unlike mine) and a tank top that revealed so-much-broad shoulder.

“Ready to go?” He asked, all wide smiles. It reminded me of his tour-guide face. Friendly, but professional, like his own version of my own Saint’s blankness.

Frowning, I reached out and poked him. My knuckle bent in before his stomach did. He looked down at my finger, then arched a brow at me. The stern brow flipped something low in my gut.

“Yes?”

“You’re acting different,” I said. 

He paused. “You think so?”

“Know so,” I countered. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he said. 

“You seemed surprised when I showed up early.” I guessed, “Are you embarrassed about something?”

“You know,” he said slowly, “you’re pretty perceptive.”

“I just notice things.” I tipped a shoulder. 

“So you’re smart  _ and _ pretty?” He teased.

I took a breath so I wouldn’t blush. “I didn’t say  _ that _ .”

He grinned again, then said, “Maybe I was a little embarrassed.”

“Why?”

“It’s complicated,” he said, “but most of my friends don’t really approve of me being here.”

I canted my head. “They don’t approve of helping your mother?”

Huffing a short laugh, he replied, “Not that, the working in a diner thing.”

“Kinda snobbish,” I said. “Maybe you need better friends.”

He stared down at me for a second, and I started to wonder if I’d overstepped. Then a low smile split his face. “Maybe I do. Thanks, I needed to hear that.”

I shrugged. “Sure.” He was just looking, not saying much, so I felt compelled to add, “I’m ready.”

With a gesture at the trail, he said, “After you.”

But I didn’t want a potential vampire at my back. “Let’s go together.”

“Okay.” He laughed. “Together.”


	17. Mine and Yours

The trail was a dirt path several feet wide. Plenty of room for me and Ira to walk side by side as we entered the forest. 

“How far does this thing go?” I asked, watching the way it curved out of sight.

“All over the place,” Ira said. “It branches off by the lake, goes deeper in the woods, and the advanced trail goes all the way around the mountain to the other side of the town.”

“Wow,” I said. “Have you ever taken it?”

“Actually, no,” he said. “I’m not really from Rossberg.”

Getting him talking about himself might reveal something I could use. “Oh, yeah?”

He nodded. “There’s this little town wayyy on the other side of the lake. I grew up there.”

“So you’re just a small-town boy, huh?”

“Something like that,” he laughed. “How about you?”

I hesitated. If he was Damned, I would have to kill him. If he wasn’t, I would never see him again after this case. Either way, there was no reason I couldn’t be a little honest.

“I’m from all over the country,” I said. “ My dad moves around a lot for work. We never really settled in one place.”

“Did you like that?” Ira asked. “My family’s been in the same town for--generations. Always wondered what it would be like to travel.”

“I loved it,” I replied. “I've been to every state in the lower 48. Seen everything from major cities to a single gas station that called itself a town.”

And had found the Damned in almost all of those places. Why wouldn’t they be in Rossberg?

His voice was wistful when he said, “That sounds amazing.”

“Why don’t you travel?” I asked.

The tour guide flickered over his face before he said, “Family stuff.”

“You’re doing it again,” I said.

He sighed. “It’s just the family convo is more like a third or fourth date thing.”

_ Convo  _ must mean conversation. Then it hit me what he said. “...Date?”

He cast me a wry glance. “Oh, are we still pretending I’m just showing you the sights?”

Called out, I had to look away. “Why did you come here then? Don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“Don’t you?”

“...Touché.”

“We’re open, by the way,” Ira said. “Me and Zo. What about you and…?”

“Beni,” I said. 

“And?” he asked. “Are you open, are you cheating, or is she a beard?”

“Beard?”

“Yeah, a girl you date so no one knows you’re gay.”

“Oh,” I said. “Um, Beni knows. It’s just...family stuff.”

“That ‘real religious’ one you mentioned?”

That’s when I saw my opportunity. 

“I’ll talk about mine if you talk about yours.” He squinted at me, and I flashed a winning smile. “Isn’t that what dates are for? Getting to know each other?”

“You drive a hard bargain,” he grumbled, but his real face was back.

“I already told you about my dad,” I said. “Your turn.”

With slanted lips, he said, “Good thing you’re so cute.”

“If you say so,” I demurred.

“I do.” Then he went on before I could object. “My parents are divorced. Haven’t talked to my dad in years.”

“Like, at all?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“That must be hard,” I said.

“What about you?” He asked. “You’ve mentioned your dad, what about your mom?”

With as little emotion as possible, I said, “She died when I was a baby.”

He winced. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago,” I breezed. “I don’t even remember her.”

Cautious, he said, “Can I ask...does that make it easier or harder?”

“Some ways, it’s a little of both,” I said. “What about yours? She owns the truck stop?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “When she divorced my step-dad, she used the settlement money to start a business.”

I laughed. “Sounds like a badass.”

There was a soft, little-boy smile on his face when he said, “She is. Okay, your turn. Any siblings?”

I shook my head. “I have a cousin named Harley. We grew up like brothers, but we haven’t really spoken since I tried to come out to him.”

“Damn,” Ira said. “That’s harsh.”

“Other than that,” I continued, “just Beni. We’ve been best friends my whole life.”

Evan would stay a secret for now. Ira hadn’t seen him, so there was no reason to mention him. Keeping a surprise may prove crucial to the mission.

As we’d been talking, the woods had deepened. The further in we went, I started to wonder if it would darken enough to see his Shadow. I was learning things Espy could put to use, but nothing that could confirm his status.

A rushing sound started rising, and I tilted my head into it. “That water?”

“Yup,” he said. “There’s several falls that feed into the lake. We’re nearly to the first one now.”

Almost as soon as he said it, the trail led us around a large outcropping of rock and the roar of a waterfall intensified. I stopped dead.

Water plunged down the rocky face, had done so for millions of years judging by the canyon it had carved through the earth. A quaint wooden bridge spanned the divide. Nothing rickety or decrepit, just floating above a river that was merely a ribbon of light beneath it.

Slowly, I walked over and peaked down. All...the way...down.

Ira saw my reaction and asked, “You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”

“If you had asked me in the parking lot, I would have said no,” I answered. “But that is a  _ long  _ way down.”

And then his fingers were weaving through mine (getting fresh, he went straight for the interlace), surprisingly warm for what I suspected about him.

“Don’t worry,” he rumbled. “I’ll protect you.”

I rolled my eyes. “How gallant.”

But I didn’t pull my hand away.


	18. Confirmation

We stepped back from the edge and Ira led us to the bridge.

He squeezed my hand. “Ready?”

I nodded.

We started to cross, and I felt a little silly. Of course it was no big deal, just a bridge. A hint of spray misted over us, the bridge just close enough to the waterfall. Quite refreshing, actually. Ira kept his fingers through mine as we walked.

“I think it’s my question,” I said.

“Ask away.”

“Do  _ you  _ have any siblings?” I asked. “Or step-siblings, I guess?”

“Just me.” He grinned. “We’re both only children. Wonder if we’d fight a lot.”

“To the death,” I said solemnly. 

He laughed, but only time would tell if I was joking. 

“My question.” His grin turned sly. “What’s your type of guy?”

Evan’s face floated through my mind. “Hmm...tall, built, dark hair, nice eyes.”

Ira preened. “Oh, really?”

All casual, I said, “Wow, this is a long bridge.”

Ira could think I was talking about him all he wanted. Worked to my advantage that way. That was the best way to lie to vampires: make everything you said technically true. Most people produce biological clues when they lie. Tell as much truth as you can, and this problem is avoided. Though, I still didn’t know if he even was a vampire. 

“What’s  _ your  _ type?” I asked.

“Hmm...tall, blond, sassy, cute.” His thumb stroked over mine as he answered. 

“What are you doing with me then?” I quipped.

“Hey, don’t do that.” He stopped walking, using our entwined hands to pull me so close to him our chests were almost touching.

“Don’t do what?” This close to him I had to tilt my head back to talk to him. For the first time I realized he was a slice taller than Evan.

“Be down on yourself,” he said. “I notice things, too. Both times I’ve complimented you, you’ve tried to deny it. You  _ are  _ cute, Seth. If you can’t agree, at least don’t disagree.”

As we stared at each other, I allowed my cheeks to heat. (As a character beat, of course.)

“Okay?” He rasped.

Caught by his eyes, all I could say was, “Okay.”

He was looking down at me. I was looking up at him. Even with the few inches of height difference, our faces were so close. His eyes were much richer than I’d originally thought, the chocolate flecked with amber. 

A lightning bolt of certainty shot through me.  _ If I kissed him, he would kiss me back. _

Flush deepening, I had to look away to get a grip. This isn’t a real date, I reminded myself. I couldn’t kiss him because I  _ wanted  _ to, only if the mission called for it. 

The  _ mission _ . That’s what I was here for. No more messing around. I needed concrete proof of vampire powers. 

I stepped back. “Bet I can beat you to the end of the bridge.”

“That’s never gonna--hey!”

Releasing his fingers, I shot toward the other end of the bridge like an arrow from the bow. But even before I reached the end, I knew this wasn’t working. Behind me, I could hear Ira’s feet pounding. He was only moving human fast. The speed of the Damned is silent. 

I stepped off the wood back onto the dirt of the trail, and turned to face him.

He was smiling. “Well, damn. You w--”

“You cheated,” I said. 

He stared at me. “I...lost.”

“Underperforming is cheating, too.” My eyes narrowed. “Did you let me win?”

“Would I do that?” He said, way too smooth. 

I crossed my arms. “That sounds like a yes to me.”

“Are you...really mad?” He asked.

Turning away from him, I said, “No-one likes being condescended to. I get that enough from my people.” (I hadn’t meant to say that part.) “I like to  _ deserve  _ victory.”

As I stared out toward the falls, an idea began forming. The exposed rock was cracked and carved, not all of it smooth from years of water.

“Didn’t realize you were so competitive.” Ira came up behind me and laid his long-fingered hands on my shoulders. “I didn’t mean to be condescending. I’m sorry.”

“Wanna make it up to me?” Maybe I made the question just a bit flirty.

“Of course.” The husk of his answer let me know he was about to agree to anything.

I turned beneath his hands so we were face to face again. “Ever been rock climbing?”

“Rock climbing,” he repeated. 

“Mhh-hmm.”

“Well, yes,” he said. “But we don’t have any equipment.”

I tossed a thumb over my shoulder. “There’s a big rock right there. What else do we need?”

“Ropes, carabiners, harnesses--”

Conjuring my best Beni, I batted my eyes up at him. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.” Without waiting to see if my hit landed, I spun and strode toward the cliff.

After a beat, I heard him follow and allowed myself a triumphant smile. (Only because I knew he couldn’t see it.)

The waterfall pounded down the mountain into oblivion, but the mountainside above where we were standing should be dry enough to grab on to. Exposed and weathered, the rock provided plenty of hand holds. All I had to do was climb up high enough that Ira would feel the need to catch me if I ‘fell,’ but not so high I’d really get hurt on the off chance he wasn’t actually a vampire.

“I’m not so sure this is safe,” Ira said. 

Ignoring him, I stared up the mountain. Then I stuck my hand in a crack and pulled myself up. My foot found a gap to step in automatically.

“See?” I said. “Easy.”

He sighed. “You’re really doing this, aren’t you?” Almost reluctantly, he stepped up to the rock. 

I found my next perch, then the next, and the next. Slowly, but surely, the ground fell away.

“How far are you going?” Barely off the ground, he hollered up to me.

“Far as I can,” I called back, actually enjoying myself. 

Soon I was high enough up that the spray from the fall was wetter, misting down from above where the river poured over the mountain.

Then something moved in the corner of my eye. Sharply, I glanced over at the falls, and there, half-formed in the water vapor, sparkling through the droplets, a pair of eyes, a dark face in the mist!

But I had turned my head too quickly, reared back too far in shock. My hands scrambled at the rocks--

Screaming, I pitched backward through the air.

“SETH!” Ira’s yell held honest fear in his timbre. 

And then his arms were around me, and my own went around his neck as my freefall slowed. We came to a stop gently. Ira landed in a crouch from that fall like no mortal creature could.

So it was confirmed.

Ira was a vampire, after all.


	19. Shocking Developments

“You saved me,” I whispered against his neck.

My heart clanged against my ribs. I had only meant to  _ pretend  _ to fall.

“I told you I would protect you,” he said. His hand tipped my face. Then his pupil widened, the black swallowing the iris, and I was looking into the familiar obsidian of vampire eyes.  _ “You only made it a few feet, and then you fell. I hadn’t started climbing yet, and I caught you.” _

An itchiness, marching ants inside my skull, as his will tried to penetrate my memory.

“You caught me,” I echoed, easily faking the breathlessness of the enthralled like I’d done a thousand times on jobs.

The sensation ceased as the black receded, and his puppy eyes returned. “Are you okay?”

“You saved me,” I whispered again, only this time a little more rueful and less shaky.

“I told you I would protect you,” he said, standing up. “I said this wasn’t very safe.”

“Good thing I wasn’t very high up,” I said.

“Good thing.”

“...Ira?”

“Yes?”

“You can put me down, now.”

“Oh!” He laughed, dropping my legs so I could find my footing. There was just a hint of flush on his cheeks, so he must have fed recently. Now that I knew for sure, I needed to start putting the details together. 

Beni’s voice tickled my inner ear.  _ Just act like a twink, and this’ll go great.  _

“How much do you work out?” I reached up and squeezed his bicep. “Not many guys could lift me like that, let alone catch my weight.”

He scoffed (though I noticed he flexed beneath my hand), “What weight? I could hold you all day.”

Most twinks probably wouldn’t notice how he’d dodged the question. 

“I’m serious!” I pitched my voice higher on the last syllable. “I may not look like much, but I’m tall, too-- _ and,  _ I also work out. Muscle is heavy, you know. I’m heavier than I look.”

“Oh, yeah?” His eyes sparkled, and he swooped in before I realized what he was doing. 

“Hey!” I forced myself to giggle despite my stomach dropping as he swung me back up into his arms. I couldn’t defend myself like this.

“See?” His rum-on-the-rocks voice sounded very pleased with himself. He actually lifted me up and down a couple times, literally using my body like a curling bar. “I told ya, I could do this all day.”

With his strength, he literally could. Not a comforting thought.

“Okay, tough guy,” I simpered, laying my hand against his chest. “You made your point.” 

“Have I?” He asked, leaning over me.

Our faces were close together. It was a much less pleasant experience now that I knew that behind his plump lips even his dullest tooth could rend my skin. 

Beneath my hand (still on his sternum) I finally felt a weak, abortive thump. His barely-beating heart was the slowest I’d ever counted, and he could walk in the sun despite being strong enough to hide his eyes. Ira wasn’t like most vampires I’ve come across. I needed to get back to the team so we could find out why.

“Can you put me down again?”

“Of course.” He pulled back, hiding his disappointment well. 

Once safely back on the ground, I could breathe a little easier. At least I could form my techniques if he tried anything. “How much further did you plan on going?”

“Lost your sense of adventure already?” He teased.

“...Maybe,” I said.

His smile fell. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine.” I ducked my head. “Just a little embarrassed. You were right.” Guys  _ loved  _ being right, even Damned ones, so that should pump up his ego, and ego blinded reason. “I could have been really hurt. I mean, that’s an overreaction since I wasn’t very high up, but…” I peaked up at him. “I think I’m ready to call it a day. I know you wanted to eat after the hike, but I just don’t think I’m up to it.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he soothed. No doubt he thought himself highly magnanimous. “I totally get it. We can head back right now, if you want.”

Still playing my role, I toed the dirt. “You’re not mad?”

“Of course not.” His face was so earnest, like he really was just a hot college boy. “It’s entirely up to you.”

Voice soft, I asked, “Will you walk me back?”

With a flourish, he held out an arm. “It would be my pleasure.”

Giggling again, I hooked my elbow through his and we started back across the bridge.

“Sorry for ruining our date.” I made sure my voice was properly mournful. 

“You didn’t ruin anything.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Besides, it’s not every day a hot blonde literally falls into my arms.”

Remembering his moratorium on denying I was hot, I didn’t say anything. He noticed

“You didn’t disagree this time.” His voice deepened. “That’s good.”

Like a bashful boy, I looked away. He didn’t know I was trying not to grind my teeth while he praised me like a dog. 

In the center of the bridge, the falls once again misted over us. This time I found it chilling, rather than quenching. I  _ knew  _ I had seen something in the water. Growing up, we’d all heard scary stories of vampires in the Old World who could achieve in between states, neither vapor nor fully solid. Did Ira have an accomplice, one even stronger than he?

Even as I had the thought, my gut told me that wasn’t quite right. Ira had been so careful with his secret identity, never revealing himself until I forced his hand. Those dark eyes had been watching me intently, as if they had no care at all if I noticed them.

As if they  _ wanted _ me to notice them. 

A truly frightening hypothesis swept through me.

What if there were  _ two  _ cults of the Damned in Rossberg? 

I shivered.

“I can stand closer to the falls,” Ira offered. “If you want.”

A vapid smile beamed up at him. “No, that’s not necessary.”

“I insist!”

I stifled a sigh as we shuffled around so Ira was getting most of the vapor. Though, it was only a fine mist to begin with.

“It’s not even that wet,” I said.

“A gentleman walks on the inside on a sidewalk,” he began, “and the outside on a street.”

“Oh, a gentleman are you?” My voice was playful, definitely not as mocking as I would have liked. 

“I was raised right,” he said with a self-deprecating smile. “If my mother knew you were getting wet in my stead, she would not be pleased.”

“Well, you’ll have to tell your mother thanks from me,” I said.  _ If you live to see her again.  _ “By the way, how old are you?”

“Twenty-Two,” he said. “And you?”

_ More like a hundred and twenty-two _ . “Eighteen.”

“I figured,” he said. “That’s the age most froshies are.”

“Froshies?”

“Freshman.”

“Oh, right.” Then, “Why isn’t it freshies?”

“What?”

“Why is it froshie, with an O, when freshman has an E?” I clarified.

He laughed. “You know, I’m not sure. Language is weird like that.”

We reached the end of the bridge, beginning the curve around the cliff that would take us back to the diner. My hand strayed to my pocket, where my phone was stil half poking out. These damn shorts were so tight not even a plummet to the death had dislodged anything. 

Handy.

“How busy does it get out here?” I asked. “Seems like kind of an odd place for a diner.”

“That’s kind of a long story,” Ira answered. “My mom got denied for a permit in town. The small-town bullshit is unreal around here. So she applied directly to the state, and got approved. By making it a truck-stop, and not just a restaurant, she gets all the semis and stuff like that. They appreciate it being out here so they don’t have to try and maneuver their big vehicles in town.”

“Makes sense,” I said. 

He nodded. “Then she started getting the highway patrol on their lunch breaks, bikers coming through, travelers trying to find the interstate. It’s a little rougher in the winter, but the summer months pay the bills.”

“Is it busy right now?”

“Probably not,” he said. “We’re a little early for the lunch rush. Why?”

Nonchalant, I replied, “Oh, just curious.”

The woods thinned just a bit, and I knew we were close to the parking lot. Soon we could see it beyond the treeline. The light at the end of the tunnel, and all that. That big white Buick, or whatever, was still parked out back.

“Is this yours?” I asked. 

“Yup.” He patted the hood. “It was my first car, actually. Restored it myself. Guzzles gas like a bitch.” He laughed. “But she’s been good to me. Couldn’t dream of replacing her until I absolutely had to.”

“Oh, are you a car person?” I looked confused. “I don’t really know anything about them.”

“I like knowing how things work,” he said. “It started as a hobby, but I actually got pretty good at it.”

I tipped my chin toward the far corner. “That’s mine over there.”

“Allow me to escort you?” 

I don’t know why he asked (our arms were still linked), but I made myself titter again and nodded.

“Despite the death-defying leaps,” he said, “I really enjoyed myself today.”

“It wasn’t death-defying,” I protested. “I was barely off the ground.”

“Right,” he said. “Well, I still got scared for a second.”

“A big thing like you? Scared?” I pressed myself closer to his side as we walked. “I don’t know if I believe that.”

“Tops have feelings, too,” he said. “My heart was in my throat when you fell. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“I didn’t want to get hurt either.” I smiled. “So thanks for being my hero.”

I swear his chest visibly puffed up. “No problem.”

“Well, here we are,” I said, standing next to my vehicle. I disengaged, and turned to look up at him. “Thank you for today. You’ve been more help than you know.”

That faint rouge tickled his cheeks again. “Oh, it really wasn’t anything.”

“It was.” I opened the backdoor, and he looked at me strangely. “You know, I’m not sure I’ve properly thanked you.”

“No thanks is necessary,” he began, but I cut him off.

“I insist.” Casually, I squeezed my phone out of my pocket. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” he said without thinking, automatically assuming I was no threat to him. 

Batting my lashes, I purred, “Close your eyes.”

Just like that, his own lashes fluttered closed.

My finger found the heart on the back of my phone case, and it read my fingerprint with a quiet ping. A tiny arc of violet energy sparked between the devil horns as I jammed the taser into Ira’s chest directly above his black heart. 


	20. Age-Old Question

Ira’s whole body seized as the energy thundered through him. Unky’s special design was less a taser, and more an internal EMP. The entire charge flashed through him in an instant, not even enough time to open his eyes, and then his body crumpled.

Quickly, I stepped up and pushed his body sideways as he fell so he landed in the car. Then it took some shuffling to get his long legs inside enough to slam the door. A quick glance around, but there was no one to notice us. 

Humming to myself, I slipped in the driver’s side. We always kept a spare burner phone somewhere, and after some rummaging I found one slid between the driver’s seat and the middle console. I swiped Evan’s number.

He answered on the first ring. “Are you okay?”

“Well, hello to you, too,” I laughed.

“I take it your  _ date _ went fine,” came his sour voice. 

“Better than fine,” I said. “I have a hostage.”

“You…”

“...Have a hostage,” I confirmed. 

“Who?” He demanded.

“St. Elena the Pacifier,” I snarked. “Ira, who else?”

“So you confirmed his status, I presume?”

“Either that, or I just tased some random beefcake,” I said. “That would be awkward.”

“...Beefcake?” That pissy tone again.

“Evan, lighten up.” Despite his displeasure, I was beaming. “I know this wasn’t exactly the plan, but trust me. This is better.”

“Fail to see how.”

“I’ll explain it all when I get there.” I rolled my eyes to Josh. “Just tell Espy we need Yahoel’s Entrapment, okay?”

Evan sighed. “Guess there’s no choice now, is there?”

“That’s the spirit!” I chirped. “See you in thirty.”

***

I made it back to the safehouse with no incidents. Every couple seconds I’d check Ira out in the rearview. He never moved, looking for all the world like a dead body crumpled in my backseat. That’s exactly what he was, I suppose.

As I drove, I kept an eye out for our sheriff friend, but he declined to put in an appearance. Probably for the best since I’m not sure how I’d explain the corpse in my car. 

Despite using every drop of voltage, I half expected Ira to pop up at any moment. There was so much unexplained about his power levels. 

I’d never met a leech who could mask his eyes  _ and  _ walk in the sun. Usually only baby vamps could bear the touch of sunlight, and gaining their eye color back came with the maturity of age. Was Ira an old vampire somehow strong enough to survive the sun, or a young vampire who learned the tricks of the trade quickly? 

Skilled or strong, that was the question.

Evan was standing on the front steps, arm crossed, as I rattled up the gravel. There was a part of me that wondered if he’d been standing there for the whole thirty minutes. As I parked, I noticed the bag of chains at his feet. (Just like our swords, the chains were tempered with vanadium to make them resistant to vampire powers.)

Picking up the bag, Evan stalked down the steps. I wouldn’t let his glower deter me. I knew this had been the right move. 

I got out and threw the backdoor open with a flourish. “Voila!”

He leaned in to give Ira’s prone form the once-over. Then he just shook his head. “Grab the other leg.”

Together we pulled Ira out onto the ground, wrapped his body with the chains, and hauled him in the house. I had my hands under Ira’s shoulders, and Evan took the feet.

“Esperanza prepared the circle downstairs,” Evan said. 

Going down the stairs took some doing with Ira’s dead weight. Evan chose to be the one going down backward, which was fine with me, and eventually we got him in there.

“Set him there.” Espy waved to a chair she had placed in the center of the sparing circle. 

We propped him up in it, and Beni appeared with another length of chain to secure him. 

“Perfect,” I declared, surveying our handiwork. 

Out of curiosity, I summoned my Spark. As the Spirit swam through my eyes, Beni started to say, “I wouldn’t.”

I yelped, stumbling backwards. In the true sight, the basement blazed with light. Espy had performed the blessing known as Yahoel’s Entrapment over the circles already etched into the floor. I’d seen my dad use the technique before, but she had taken it to another level by blessing each layer of the sacred circles. The result was not the wispy, haunted blue of most Saint’s Spark, but a sphere glowing like a blue sun. 

Rubbing my eyes, I muttered, “I don’t think he’s getting out of that.”

“That’s the idea,” Espy drawled. 

“So,” Evan bit off. “Care to explain why you deviated from the plan?”

I launched into a quick run down of my morning, culminating with the events at the cliff. 

“...and then I tased him,” I finished. 

Evan was pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“You’ll need a new phone, then.” Espy sighed.

I grinned. “Right. Sorry.”

“We’ll call your uncle when we’re through here.”

“Who cares about the phone?” Snapped Evan. “You could have died, Seth.”

“I knew Ira would catch me,” I said.

“You did not--”

“Yes,” I said. “I did. Maybe you’re not familiar with big macho types, but I am. His ego would never allow any harm to come to me once he had pledged his protection, especially if he was considering me for one of his pets. I'm an infiltrator by trade, remember? This is what I do.”

He just stared at me, thunderous. “That’s an awfully big risk to take.”

“You’re not listening.” I tried to keep my voice calm. “It  _ wasn’t  _ a risk. Vampires may be murderous blood-suckers, but they do have their own twisted form of honor. I  _ knew  _ he would intervene if I was in ‘danger’, there was never any real chance of him doing anything but.” Before Evan could chide me again, I went, “Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the best part.”

He groaned. “There’s more?” 

“I’m not sure Ira’s cult is the only group of vampires in the area.”

There was a full beat of silence.

“What makes you say that?” asked Espy, drawing closer.

“There was...someone else there.” I described the spectral eyes peering through the mist. 

“Maybe Ira had back up,” Evan said. “Just in case.”

“You’re thinking like a Saint,” I said, “but leeches don’t really work together. Even in a nest. They may group for safety, but they hunt alone. Besides, if they were affiliated, why not show themself after Ira used his powers? Why not intervene when I took him? Whoever was in the mist wasn’t there for Ira. They were watching  _ me. _ ”

Slowly, Evan said, “Your theory is that there is a cult of unusually powerful young vampires,  _ and  _ a second cult that can maintain a half-evaporated form?” 

“I’m not saying all of them can do those things,” I said. “But we’ve never even heard of  _ one  _ who can before, at least not in the Americas, and now we have  _ two  _ demonstrations of unusual power. I’d say that merits some looking into.”

“Only one,” Evan said. “There’s no proof of the second--”

“That’s what you said about Ira, too,” I shot back.

His face darkened.

“Hey, guys,” Beni broke in. “Wanna stick a pin in this? I think he’s waking up.”


	21. Ithuriel's Spear

I’ve never actually watched the Damned come back from death before, and I have to say, it was an interesting experience.

First, he twitched and jerked like a sleeper on the verge of waking. All his nerve endings reconnecting, I guess. Then, head lolling, he gasped. It was a deep, hollow sound, a death rattle in reverse. Finally, his head snapped up, eyes going wide. They were fully black, and he had to blink several times before their color came rushing back.

Earlier his skin had been merely pale. Now it was  _ white _ , pallid and deathly. If I lay my hand against his cheek, I knew, he would be cool to the touch. Healing from Unky’s taser had really taken it out of him.

“Hey, babe.” I smirked. “Sleep well?”

He swallowed hard. “Where am I?”

“Somewhere safe,” I said.

“Safe. Right.” He looked down at himself, then back up at me. “Isn’t the first date a little early for bondage?”

“It was never a date.” The coldness of my voice even surprised myself a little. “We have questions. You’re going to answer them.”

His eyes roamed over us: Evan, face still tight; Espy, serene as always; and Beni, looking, well, a little bored. 

“ _ We  _ being that religious family you mentioned, yeah?” He sighed. “Figures. The cutest ones are always the craziest.”

“Every ten years your kind murders two people from this town.” Ignoring his crazy crack, I stared him down. “How are the victims chosen, and how do we stop it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He met my gaze with just the right touch of wide-eyed fear. It was almost saintlike, I was realizing, the ability to project any emotion on his face. Not a tour guide face, a politician’s. “Please just let me go.”

“Wrong answer.”

Calmly, I walked to the weapons table where my Baby still patiently waited after our training session. Picking her up, I walked back until I was facing Ira once again. His eyes never left me the whole time. 

“We know what you are.” Slowly, like undressing a lover, I drew Baby from her sheath. I applied just enough pressure that the bell-pure sound of her coming free was a long, slow trill. “You can still find redemption. Just tell me how to stop what’s happening tonight.

He was silent, eyes flickering like he didn’t know if he should be watching the blade or me. An amateur’s mistake. Always keep your eyes on your opponent. 

“There’s no use pretending,” I told him. “The taser I used on you would drop a herd of elephants and still have charge left. Yet here you are, looking alive and well. But I think we both know you’re neither of those things.”

“You’re the one who isn’t well.” He finally spoke. “You can’t treat a person like this.”

“I’d never treat a  _ person  _ like this,” I said. 

Real emotion entered his face, a shade of anger. “I  _ am  _ a person.”

“No,” I said. “You’re a vampire.”

The word hung in the air. He didn’t deny it. 

“Last chance, leech.” I spun Baby in my hand so the tip was pointed at him. “You start talking, or I start cutting.”

“I’d just like to point out that torture has been proven ineffective,” he said, a little of the fear in his eyes real now. “The tortured just says whatever the torturer wants to hear. Even if you make me talk, you can’t make me tell the truth.”

“Actually,” Espy put in. “We can.”

We all, even Ira, turned to look at her.

“There is a maneuver called the Spear of Ithuriel,” she continued. “It pierces the deceptions of the Damned.”

“You’re going to perform this technique?” Evan asked. 

“No.” She looked at me. “Seth is.”

“But, Sister,” he protested. “The Names of the Archons are reserved for patriarchs.”

“True.” She nodded. “But Ithuriel is a gentle Name, and his prayers are the easiest, to be honest. The Spear requires only peace of mind to work. If Seth is as certain of this course of action as he claims, then it should be no problem.”

“Seriously?” I tried to contain my excitement in front of the hostage, but a slice of wonder tinged my breath. “You’re going to teach me a Name?”

“Enter the circle,” she said. “It’s quite safe. The blessing will allow us to pass without disrupting the protection.”

Squaring my shoulders, I stepped into the sacred circle. Without engaging my true sight I couldn’t actually see the sphere, but I felt it, a tingle as I crossed the barrier.

“Now wait a minute!” Ira said, rearing back as far as the chains around the chair would allow. “I won’t be your guinea pig.”

None of us acknowledged him.

“Find your center,” Espy instructed from outside the circle.

I fell into my Spark with the same ease as always.

“Allow the Spirit to fill you, but do not yet send it into the sword.”

The true sight washed over my vision automatically, the haint blue of my Spirit flowing all around my body like an aura. I could feel the way it itched to flow down my arm into Baby, the vanadium of her blade calling the power like a magnet, but I held the light at bay within me.

“Very good. Now repeat after me: Ithuriel, Archon of Discovery.”

“ _ Ithuriel, _ ” I whispered. “ _ Archon of Discovery _ .” 

“Set your spear within my hand…”

_ “Set your spear within my hand…” _

“To pierce all lies and illusions, and guide the children of man.”

_ “To pierce all lies and illusions, and guide the children of man.”  _

“Now comes the hard part.” Espy’s voice was soft. “Slowly, like an unspooling thread, guide the power into your sword. But not all once. You must use your will to twist the Spirit around your blade.”

I gathered my Spirit, trying to visualize a spiral of light around my Baby.

“No, slower,” Espy said, but I could already feel it. The light shot down the sword, lighting the blade up like I always did.

I glared down at her in frustration. 

“Your Uncle is renowned for his tempering process,” Espy said. “But to invoke the more gentle Names, that can sometimes be a hindrance.”

“Tough luck,” said Ira, almost cheerfully. “Guess you better let me go.”

“Shut it,” I hissed. 

“You can’t get frustrated,” Espy said. “Remember, this technique requires peace of mind. You must find balance to construct the Spear.”

Nodding, I held in a breath. As I released the air, I sent my impatience with it.

“I know you’re used to picking things up quickly,” she continued. “Remove your ego from the equation, and try again. Allow only enough Spirit into your blade to spindle.”

I tried, I really did, but once again Baby’s magnetism was too great, and once again the blade filled with light. If this was the easiest Patriarch skill, what were the others like?

“Maybe this isn’t such a great idea,” Evan began, but I cut him off.

“I can do it,” I insisted. “Third time’s the charm.”

I held Baby before my face. This time I took a second to picture what a spear of Spirit around her blade would look like before I drew on any of my inner Spark. Falcatas aren’t a terribly long blade, as far as swords go. Her entire length was about the size of some spearheads I’ve seen, so it wasn’t actually hard to imagine. 

Not imagine,  _ visualize.  _

“Let your Spark be a pool, a lake,” came Espy’s final instruction. “Only one small river of Spirit needs to escape.” 

_ “Ithuriel, Archon of Discovery…” _

This time as I called the Spirit, I didn’t let it flow down my arm, keeping the bluish glow in my center of mass. 

_ “Set your spear within my hand…” _

Even from an arm’s length away, the vanadium called to the Spirit. I pictured the thinnest slice of blue, thin as a thread, and didn’t let it shoot straight down. I spiraled it around my arm, fighting against Baby’s call to keep the motion slow and steady.

_ “To pierce all lies and illusions…” _

It was working, and I realized what I needed to do. Espy’s instruction about the river was my clue. Rivers were constantly in motion. I spindled the channel of Spirit around and around the blade. When it got it to the tip, I called it back again, twisting it in the other direction back toward my Spark.

_ “...and guide the children of man,” _ I finished.

Ithuriel’s Spear glowed, blue and beautiful, around my sword, a constantly rotating helix of energy from my core, to the tip of the sword, and back again.

“Well done,” said Espy.

Evan crossed his arms. 

“Now touch him with the point, and ask your questions.”


	22. QNA

I stepped forward, setting the point of the Spear against Ira’s heart.

Futily, he tried to lean away from it. “Wait, don’t you dare--hnn!”

As soon as I made contact, his whole body stiffened. The point glowed brightly where I touched his chest.

This close to him, the true sight revealed what he really was. Every person, even the uninitiated, has flashes of their Spark visible sometimes, especially in high-stress situations. A human chained to a chair would have lightning-spikes of anxiety running all over their body. 

But Ira’s was gray, like a desaturated photograph. It rippled like smoke. A shadow, not a light. How had I ever wondered if he was really Damned? The evidence was so obvious.

“What’s your name?”

“Ira Greer,” he spat through clenched teeth.

“...Your real name.”

“I-I,” he tried to fight the Spear, but ultimately the truth came out in a rush. “Illya Rurikovich of Ray House.”

Triumphantly, I grinned down at him. “And how old are you, Illya?”

“Twenty-two.”

I stifled a sigh, pressing the point harder into his chest. “How old are you, really?”

“Twenty-two!” He exclaimed. “Sorry we can’t all be ancient, self-loathing, and brooding.” He snapped his mouth shut, grinding his jaw.

“That’s not possible,” I said. “How can you be pre-centennial with the ability to hide your eyes?”

“My line is strong,” he growled. “My bringer is the Primus of our House.”

“A Primus is like a king, right? I believe we’re in the presence of royalty, guys,” I said to the others. “Forgive me if I don’t curtsy.”

“I’ll never forgive you,” he vowed, and with the point against his heart I knew it was true. 

“Well, shucks,” I said, then moved on to more pressing concerns. “How many people have you killed?”

“None,” he said, emphatic.

I gave him a skeptical look. “You’ve never taken a single life?”

“I don’t need to.” For the first time he seemed almost haughty. “The humans of my House see it as a great honor to provide for us.”

“I’m sure they do,” I mocked.

“What about you?” He shot back. “How many of  _ us  _ have  _ you  _ killed.”

“Seven hundred and eighty-eight,” I said cheerfully. “Though I suspect, in the very immediate future, that number will be 789.”

“Seven hundred…” he trailed off, like I’d honestly shocked him.

The Spear wavered, the blade almost sucking in the spiral, and I had to refocus. Asking Ira--Illya--questions while I kept the Spirit spinning was harder than igniting the technique in the first place.

“Careful, Seth,” Espy chided. “Don’t get overconfident. Balance and peace, only.”

I cleared my throat. “Who knows you came to see me today?”

A fine tremble broke out over his whole body, like he was fighting Ithuriel with everything he had. “My mom and Zo.”

“Are they both vampires?” I asked.

Venomous, he said, “Just Zo.”

“Wonderful,” I said. “Did you damn her?”

“I brought her into the night,” he said. “If that’s what you mean.”

“So you have killed, then,” I said. “You killed Zo.”

“She didn’t stay dead,” he protested. “And now she’ll live forever.”

“If you can call it living,” I said. “Lurking in the shadows of the world, preying on the innocent.”

“Very few humans are innocent,” he said. “And I’ve never fed on anyone who didn’t want it.”

“I know a little about the ‘Great Houses’,” I said. “You raise humans like cattle.” He didn’t reply, but I didn’t need him to. “They spend their whole lives thinking of themselves as stock, not people. So how could they honestly  _ want  _ it, if they’ve never been taught to want anything else? If they can’t say no, how can they really say yes?”

His mouth worked, but he didn’t say anything. Apparently not knowing the answer didn’t count as a lie. Interesting.

“We’re not here to give a lecture on consent,” Evan called. “Find out what he knows, and let’s get this over with.”

“Fine.” Focusing back on Ira, I asked, “How are your victims chosen?”

“I don’t have victims.” He replied too easily, not even fighting the Spear. “I told you, I’ve never killed anyone--”

“Two people are going to die tonight.” I cut him off. “Who are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“How are they chosen?”

“I don’t know.”

The Spear flickered again and I had to breathe away the frustration. 

“Let’s try something else,” I said. “You don’t know who the victims are or how they’re chosen, is that correct?”

“Yes.” Even in the grip of Ithuriel, his answer seemed a little smug.

I smiled. “Who would?”

Snapping his mouth shut, his whole body started to vibrate. I could physically see the effort it was taking him to resist.

“Who would know the answers to my questions?” I twisted the Spear against his chest, not enough to draw blood, just enough so he got the point.

“M-many people!” He finally gasped, chest heaving though he didn’t need to breathe.

“But not  _ your  _ people,” I said. If Illya’s bringer was the Primus of his cult, there’s no way he wouldn’t know something about it. “This Ray House of yours isn’t behind these murders, is it?”

Eyes wide, frantic, he groaned, “N-n-no.”

“Who is?” I didn’t allow the thrill of victory to disrupt the Spear, not when I was so close. “Who is behind the murders that happen every decade?”

“I can’t say,” he huffed. “They’ll kill me!”

“Illya Rurikovich,” I commanded. “Tell me who they are!”

“The v-v-v--”

And then something impossible happened. Even in the grip of vanadium chains, Ira’s eyes turned black and his body dissolved into smoke.


	23. Regrouping

Clattering and clanging, the chains collapsed as Ira wisped out of them. Billowing into a column of clouds, he came straight for me.

“Seth!” Evan cried, starting forward.

But I was already dipping backward, spinning the loop of Baby’s hilt so the flat was against my palm. I pushed my hands against the floor, and sprung out of the circle to land in a crouch just beyond the final barrier. I didn’t need the true sight to see the air ripple as Ira smacked into Yahoel’s entrapment.

Undeterred, the seething pillar of air twisted around and shot in a new direction, only to be rebuffed again. 

Evan appeared at my elbow, offering me a hand. “You okay?”

Nodding, I watched Ira flit around his confines. The smoke ping-ponged against the bubble like an angry pinball. At last, the vapor coalesced and Ira--Illya-- materialized in the circle, trembling fists clenched at his side.

“Release me,” he hissed, even more strained and pale.

“Gonna go with no,” I said.

Beni snorted a laugh, then tried to cover it with a cough.

Ira’s face tightened, and I had the feeling he would be flushing with fury if he had enough blood. “You can’t keep me here forever.”

I raised Baby. “Obviously not.”

He raised an imperious eyebrow. “You’re very threatening in those shorts.”

I fought a blush. I’d almost forgotten what I looked like. There hadn’t been time to change from my revealing ‘date’ outfit. “A sword doesn’t care what I’m wearing.”

“You’ve already made a huge mistake just bringing me here,” he said. “I promise you, killing me will not work out for you.”

“What, your blood-daddy will swoop down on our heads?”

“My mother,” he said simply. 

“Really?” I laughed, couldn’t help it. “You’re going to tattle to your mommy? The one you’ve already told us isn’t a vampire?” 

In a low voice, he declared, “Some things are more powerful than the  _ vampir _ .”

He pronounced it vom-PEER, like a complete douchebag. 

“I think we’ll take our chances,” I started to say, but Evan’s hand covered mine, lowering my sword.

I shot him an outraged glare. 

“Let’s go upstairs,” he said. “All of us. Think we need to regroup.”

I huffed. Baby was practically begging to slide between Illya’s cervical vertebrae, but Evan gave me another of his stank eyes, and I acquiesced.

But I couldn’t resist one last parting shot at Ira. With what I hoped was a sultry wink, I purred, “Don’t go away!” Then I turned and sauntered toward the stairs.

He was watching my ass as I went. I didn’t turn to look, but I knew he was.

The basement door opened into the kitchen. Espy’s notes and my mother’s book were still on the table. Espy came up last, shutting the door behind. Murmuring the prayers of protection, she held up two fingers in the Rebuke and traced the outline of the door. 

“There.” She turned back to us. “Now we won’t be overheard.”

“Seth what the actual Hyle?” Evan raked a hand through his hair. 

“What?” I threw my head back and gave him an eye of my own. “We needed answers, and now we have them.”

“Answers? We have more questions than ever!” He started ticking off his fingers. “We still don’t know who’s behind the murders,  _ or  _ who the victims are,  _ or  _ how they’re chosen,  _ and  _ now we have to worry about what makes Ira’s mother scarier than a vampire.

“But we can find out.” I thrust my finger toward the basement. “We just need to restrain him--”

“How?” He demanded. “He vaped out of vanadium. That’s not supposed to be possible, but he did it.”

“I bet he’s getting too weak to do it again,” I said. “You saw how pale and shaky he was getting.”

“That makes him  _ more  _ dangerous, not less,” he snapped. “The Craving will rise soon, and then what?”

“And  _ then  _ we kill him,” I said. “So let’s wrap this up before we lose our chance.”

“This is not how things are done,” Evan said flatly. “And we can’t do it safely even if it was.”

Crossing my arms, I said, “I thought you were done shutting me down?”

“That was before you went off mission!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah, Seth,” Beni put in. “I haven’t seen you go off script like this in ages.”

Glowering, I asked, “Are you going to lecture me next?”

“Not at all,” she breezed. “I’m impressed.”

Evan rounded on her. “Don’t encourage him.”

“Somebody ought to ‘cuz you sure haven’t been.” That brought him up short, but she wasn’t done. “You’re so focused on him being the junior partner that you forget he’s also the scion. Did you not just witness him pull a Patriarch-level skill out of his ass on the first try?”

(Technically it was the third try, but I couldn’t interrupt her when she was defending me.)

“I’ve never denied his skill.” Cheeks pink, Evan said, “He’s very good, but he’s also cocky--and reckless.”

She rolled her eyes. “Look, I get it. That annoyingly perfect thing he does can be a lot, but he’s James the Younger, so it’s whatever. It’s fine.”

“...Doesn’t sound fine,” I muttered, but neither of them were listening to me.

“He can’t bend the rules just because he’s the heir,” Evan shot back. “Saint James and I had a whole conversation about it. I can’t let him chase every wild hair--”

“Wild hair?” Beni scoffed. “He’s been right about every ‘wild hair’ so far. The sheriff  _ was  _ acting weird, Ira  _ is  _ a vampire, and there  _ is  _ another cult behind the murders. Seems like he should go a little more wild, if you ask me.”

“Didn’t,” he snapped. 

“Well maybe you should,” she said. “Because I’m tired of watching him shrink himself just to please  _ you _ . You need to appreciate what he is, not try to make him something he’s not.”

Utterly lost for words, Evan just stared.

Into the silence, Espy said, “We have more pressing concerns.”

I thought she meant the vampiric timebomb in the basement, but then a knock came at the door. 


	24. Ultimatums

For a moment, none of us moved. Then, almost all at once, we sprang into action. Baby spun into my fist nearly autonomously. Evan thrust out his arm and a knife slid down into his palm. Beni pulled her kilij from her back. Beneath the auburn fall of her hair, and I hadn’t even noticed she was strapped up. Espy started praying, fingers weaving in complicated gestures I didn’t recognize. Magda stuff, probably. 

We all assumed positions, Evan taking point, and crept toward the door.

“I know you’re in there,” an unfamiliar voice called. “Mrs. Song sent me.”

Evan and I shared a look. How had Song found the safehouse?

Espy finished her gestures by clasping her hands together, fingers interlaced. Then she slowly brought them apart. Electricity raced over my skin. It was so tempting to engage the sight and see what she’d done to the room, but I’d learned my lesson in the basement. 

“It’s open,” she called. 

The front door swung open, and a petite Chinese girl walked in. She was delicate and billboard-pretty, with thick black hair tied back from her face. Her grim expression was at odds with her ripped skinny jeans, and sparkly t-shirt. The sequins were in the shape of a kitten. My instinct was to peg her at around my age, but intentionally trying to look younger. It was just a feeling, though, no way to confirm. 

She looked over us, gaze lingering the longest on Espy. Not one iota of fear entered her eyes in this room full of naked blades. 

“Your magic will not work in here,” Espy said. “Try anything, and the results will be very unpleasant.”

“If we wished to harm you we would have done it the second we detected your lair,” the girl said. 

“We?” Espy said. “Did you come alone?”

The girl smiled. “A Song is never alone.”

“What do you want?” Evan asked harshly.

“The vampire,” she said. “Release him to me.”

“No,” I said. “He’s my rightful catch, and I’m not giving him up ‘til we’re done with him.”

“You don’t seem to understand,” said the girl. “You have no power here, slayer. All you’ve done is destabilize a situation you don’t comprehend.”

“So explain it, then,” said Beni. 

“Why do you think you can show up anywhere you want and make demands?” Her contemptuous eyes slid across the room. “You don’t make the rules here. We do. There is a system in place, and that is all you need to know. A system you are actively fucking up.”

“Well, maybe if someone would just explain it to us--” I started.

“I am explaining it to you,” she said. “The way it works is: you release the vampire, and then you leave.”

“That’s not an explanation,” Evan said. “That’s an ultimatum.”

“Release the vampire, or die,” the girl said. “ _ That’s  _ an ultimatum. 

“Get out, or die.” Evan flipped the knife in his hand from defensive to offensive. “That’s another one.”

“Let’s everyone calm down,” Espy said. “My name is Esperanza, what’s yours?”

“My name is none of your business,” replied the girl. “This is not a social call, this is your last chance to see reason. I hear your people believe in knowledge, right? Know this: the only way you make it out of this unscathed is by releasing the vampire, and leaving town before dark. Period.” She stared us all down as she continued, “There’s no secret maneuvers, no fancy technique, no ancient chant that will get you out of this. Surrender, or suffer the consequences.”

“Regretfully,” said Espy. “We must decline your generous offer.”

I half expected Evan to object. Exchanging Ira’s life for ours wouldn’t bother him a bit, but he followed Espy’s lead. I guess his adherence to the hierarchy won out over his hatred of the vampire in the basement. 

The girl sighed. “My grandmother told me what the answer would be, but I wanted to try anyway.” Then she turned and looked right at me. “Just know, you brought this on yourself.” 

A pit opened in my gut. She turned and unhurriedly walked out the door. 

Beni seemed to agree. “Well, that was ominous.”

“So what do we do now?” I asked.

“Bolster the blessings around the house,” sighed Espy. “At least until we can set up a new HQ somewhere else.”

Evan tucked his knife away. “How did Song find us in the first place?”

“Ira, I think,” said Beni, her saber disappearing beneath her hair. “That girl knew he was here. Like, one hundred percent  _ knew _ .”

A terrible thought occurred to me, the sick feeling in my stomach growing. “This is my fault.”

“No--” Evan started to say.

“Yes, it is.” I was suddenly certain of it. “Beni’s right. They must be tracking Ira. It’s the only thing that makes sense, and if they’re able to find him even  _ here _ …”

In a soft voice, Espy finished the thought. “...Then the safehouse is no longer protected.”

Beni caught on. “Bringing a vampire inside the protections must invalidate them.”

“You were right all along,” I said to Evan. “I should never have brought him here. I  _ am  _ too cocky and reckless--”

“There’s no time for that now,” he said, surprisingly gentle as he laid a hand on my shoulder. “We need to gather up our essentials and go. Right now.”

“Good thing we live out of packs anyway,” said Beni, a valiant attempt to lighten the gloom. 

“Quiet!” Espy commanded. “Do you hear that?”

And then I could, a strange...groaning? Rattling? Almost like pipes first thing in the morning--

Snakes exploded from the faucet in the kitchen sink, and Espy (the closest of us to the kitchen) shrieked, “Oh,  _ hell  _ no!” and jumped back as best she could on her prosthetic. 

Her sword practically appeared by magic in her hand, and she swung at the serpents writhing in the sink. The blade passed through their scaly bodies with a whisper, but no heads hit the ground. I knew in the true sight I would see the same golden web of symbols that Song had used on the car.

“Espy!” I cried. “It won’t work!” I tried to step forward, but was stopped by a wave of coughing.

“Seth?” Evan reached for me, but I fell to my knees hacking into my elbow. “Seth, what’s wrong?”

“D-don’t--” I lifted my head to try to tell him  _ I don’t know _ , and his face paled. Looking down at my arm I knew why.

I was coughing up blood. 


	25. Song of Songs

“Hhh KGHH! Hhh KGHH!” I wheezed, trying to suck air through a mouth filling with blood.

“What’s happening?” Evan’s eyes were as wide and startled as a panicked horse. 

“It’s S-Song,” I gasped.

It couldn’t be anything else. Perfectly healthy eighteen-year-olds don’t just start spitting up blood.

“ESPY!” Evan roared, forgetting her full name in the heat of the moment. “Seth needs help!”

She looked up, but her eyes were a million miles away. Whatever Espy was fighting was more than just the snakes in front of her. I’ve never seen that distant stare on her face before, and that was almost scarier than everything else. 

“The stairs!” Beni screamed.

We all looked. We couldn’t help ourselves. 

_ SKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKS… _

Scorpions came skittering down the stairs, dozens of them, falling over each other, pouring down the steps like dark water. 

_ GROK! GROK! _

The door flew open, and I feared the girl had returned. But it was so much worse. Frogs and toads came leaping through the doorway. Each was lime green, or bright red, electric blue, obviously poisonous just by looking at them. 

“Damn it!” Evan yelled, pulling his knife again. His sword was still downstairs. Although, since the creatures were made of nothing but magic, it’s not like it would have done much good anyway. 

Beni was backing away from the stairwell. “Nothing works. We can’t touch them!”

Somehow we all knew  _ they  _ could touch  _ us.  _

“Espy, please!” Evan called again, but any reply she might have made was drowned out when Beni started screaming. 

Her sword clattered to the ground as she used both hands to scrub at her head and face.  _ Oh, Josh _ . I looked up. Spiders were falling from the ceiling. 

“Beni!” Espy cried, the sound of her niece's distress finally bringing her back. Blinking, she staggered back. The snakes had filled the sinks, and were falling to the floor  _ hssssssssss _ ing all the while.

“HuhKGHH!” A huge bubble of blood burst from my lungs, spattering Evan’s face.

_ SKSKSKSKSKSKSKS! _

The scorpions were at the bottom of the stairs, right by Beni’s feet!

_ GROK! GROK! _

Evan batted at a bright pink frog, it only flickered for a moment, before throwing my arm around his neck to help me up.

_ Hssssssssss! _

“My notebook!” Espy cried. “I finished one of the songs! It’s our only hope.”

The notebook...on the kitchen table...with frogs blocking our way, and snakes blocking Espy.

Setting his jaw, Evan dropped his knife and swung me up into his arms. He dashed into the living room, dodging falling spiders, shoving the couch out of the way with a strong kick.

“Seth, come on, buddy.” He tried to set me on my feet, but my knees pitched. “You gotta start the temenos. I’ll bring you the notebook.”

“C-Can’t,” I hacked, drooling thick and red down my chin. 

“Yes, you can!” He lifted my chin, uncaring of the blood staining his hand. “You can do anything, Seth. I wasn’t right, not a bit. Beni was right. I should have believed in you--I  _ do  _ believe in you. Let’s live long enough to hear her say she told me so, alright?”

I gave a clipped nod.

“Start sanctifying the ground.” His eyes hardened. “I’ll bring you the notebook.”

Sticking Baby’s point against the floor, I used her to push myself up. The room wavered in my vision. It was getting so hard to breathe, my own blood filling my lungs, but I kept myself upright.

“That’s the way.” Evan smiled at me, something in his eyes that made me feel just a little stronger. “Be right back.”

He bolted back toward the kitchen, past jumping frogs and snapping snakes and dropping spiders. 

I squeezed my eyes shut. If I kept watching him, I’d never be able to do this. My lungs seized. The urge to cough was unbearable, but if I couldn’t make it through the prayer, this would never work. So I forced myself to breathe through it, calming my mind to calm my biology. Coughing isn’t that different from blushing, really. Control the brain, control the body.

Holding Baby’s blade up before me with one hand, I curled my fingers of the other into the Benediction.

“Hail, Sophia,” I whispered, “full of light.”

My Spark rose, Spirit filling the blade. I didn’t look at anyone else. I had one job right now. 

“Pour your Spirit out upon us.” Baby’s blue glow danced in my eyes. “Prepare a place for us in a world half-made.”

The blue brightened, Baby lighting the room like a torch. 

“Wherever we are, You are,” I continued. “Our Spirit is Your--hnn!” My chest heaved, the light flickered, but I cleared my throat, spat a clot of blood onto the floor and kept going. “Our Spirit is Your Spirit. Mother of Angels, pray for us!”

Baby lit up like a blue sun. Her light no longer shimmered, but shone steadfast. It reminded me of Espy’s work in the basement. I slashed her through the air, carving a circle above my head. The sillage of the motion didn’t fade. It grew, forming a circle as it drifted to the floor. 

_ GRO-- _

A big frog (made of glowing golden characters, just as I imagined) tried to leap into the circle--and was rebuffed! But even as I felt a thrill of victory, I saw it gather its feet to try again. The holy ground had repelled them, but it hadn’t broken the spell. I could feel the weight of blood in my chest still, as well.

“Seth, I can’t get through!” Evan’s voice cut through my focus. He was standing on the kitchen table, notebook in hand, arm cocked back. “Catch!”

The book sailed through the air, and I spent one absurd instant thankful that Espy was fancy enough to prefer the hardbound kind. A simple spiral notebook would never have been heavy enough to fly true. 

I caught it, but the impact nearly knocked me off my feet. 

“Like a heartbeat!” Espy screamed over the noise of the creatures. “Two syllables at a time!”

With shaky hands, I flipped through the pages. Espy’s writing was as neat and clean as everything else she did. I heard Beni scream again, and almost tore a page as I flinched. Espy wailed  _ “No!”,  _ but I didn’t look up. 

The creatures were made of magic. I had to believe their venom was, too. This would work, it  _ had  _ to work, and Beni would be fine. 

Finally, I found the page from earlier, with all the circles and arrows like a battle plan. The arrows were drawn in ever-decreasing circles, spiraling inward. Every so often Espy had made an X and written the name of technique in her precise writing. The words from my mother’s book, a few simple lines, were scribed at the top of the page. I stared at it, committing what I could to memory, and then dropped it so it landed open in front of me. 

I stumbled forward enough to extend my sword without crossing the circle, and nearly crumpled beneath another wave of coughing. Blood poured down my chin, dripping on the floor. There was no way I could speak the lines out loud. 

But a prayer in your heart was still a prayer. 

I slid two fingers along the blade, then swiped the blade through the air in the lines of the first form.

Like a heartbeat, Espy had said. 

_ My-soul/you-shall/suc-ceed _

Stepping to the left, I moved into the next stance, spinning into a tighter circle.

_ My-soul/you-shall/o’er-come _

With each step, each swing of Baby through the air, I could feel the power building. 

_ My-soul/keep-my/thresh-hold _

Praying internally, it wasn’t hard to match the syllables to my heartbeat. I could do this, I  _ knew  _ it would work. 

_ As-up/a-bove _

I spun into the last form. Facing forward again, I had reached the middle of the circle, and threw Baby high in the air.

_ So-down/be-low! _

With a grunt of effort, I dropped my sword like a hammer. As the blade swung down to the ground, the middle of the circle, the hum of her through the air grew louder and louder. 

_ TNNNNNNNNG!! _

On one knee, I held on to Baby for dear life as I pushed every spark of energy I had left into seeing this through. Spirit flashed outward. It was a shockwave of force, of  _ light _ , and all the poisonous creatures vanished like smoke as the vibration of the completed song raced outward in all directions.

Spots forming in my vision, I lifted my hundred-pound head to see Evan climbing down off the table. He was coming toward me, his mouth was moving. Why was his mouth moving if he wasn’t saying anything? I had just enough time to see the fear fly across his face…

And then the floor was rushing toward me. 


	26. Annoyingly Perfect

Warm light washed over my eyelids. The serene glow was completely at odds with the semi-truck failing its driving lesson in my skull. Despite the headache, I was strangely comfortable. It wasn’t hard to realize why.

I was in Evan’s room, in his bed. That comforting smell of him was all around me, instantly recognizable. I was reminded of waking up next to him, how cozy it had been for the split second before mind-numbing panic. All I wanted was to lie here. But I needed to know if everyone was okay. 

Slowly, I opened my eyes, squinting against the light that wasn’t as bright as I thought. I’d been out for a while, judging from the colors through the window.

Evan was sitting next to the bed on one of the wooden chairs from the kitchen, face in his hands. He hadn’t realized I was awake yet, so I took a moment to just look at him. His hair was even darker than usual, slightly damp. He must have showered while I’d been passed out. The handle of his yatagan was just visible over his shoulder. I guess he wasn’t to be caught without it again. 

“Hey.” My voice croaked out, throat a little sore. I guess coughing up your own blood will do that.

“Seth!” His head snapped up. He leaned in close, one hand hovering out. “Are you okay?”

“Been better,” I admitted. “Throat hurts. Head hurts.”

“But other than that?” he asked, anxious.

I gave a crooked smile. “Peachy keen.”

He sighed. “You scared--us. Wasn’t sure you would wake up. Didn’t even flinch when I laid you in the bath.”

Looking down at myself, I realized I was no longer covered in blood...and wearing a large t-shirt that must have been Evan’s. 

“You cleaned me up?”

He nodded, dropping his hand to the bed.

Wasn’t sure how I felt about him bathing me. We had buried the hatchet about my crush, but it was still embarrassing to think about him seeing me naked. The sudden uptick in my heartrate wasn’t helping my headache any. 

But he was obviously worried about me, so I said, “Thanks.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Without that fancy move, we’d be dead.”

“Thank Espy,” I said. “She’s the one that figured it out.”

“You sure you’re okay?” His eyes roamed over me, making me feel a little weird that I wasn’t wearing pants. 

I tipped a shoulder. “I’ll live.”

“Thank Josh,” he whispered. 

“Beni!” I suddenly remembered, sitting up. “Is she--?”

“She’s fine.” He held up his hands in placation. “She’s just fine.”

Laying back, I sighed. “Good.”

“Seth, I…” he stopped, looking down at his hands. 

“What is it?” I watched him flex his fingers, like he was struggling against something.

“I thought I lost you,” he whispered.

Something in his face made me want to comfort him. “Hey, I told you. I’m fine.”

“No, you don’t understand.” He stopped, swallowed hard. “I have to tell you something, and can you just let me get it out? Please?”

I dipped my chin in a slow nod.

He took a long breath. Released it before speaking again. “When you collapsed...I really thought you weren’t gonna make it. You were covered in blood, and unresponsive and we--I was really scared, Seth. It made me realize some things. Or, more like face up to some things, I guess.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Okay, let me back up. When you went to meet Ira...I was...I was jealous.” His voice was very small by the time he got it out.

“I was jealous when you and Beni were talking about how hot he is. I was jealous when you put on that  _ obscene  _ outfit to go out with him. I was even jealous when you called him a beefcake on the phone.” Once he got started, it was like he couldn’t stop. The words started coming out faster. “I felt the way a man feels when another man moves in on his woman. Not that I’m saying you’re a woman! That’s just what it felt like, what  _ I  _ felt like, and I didn’t know why. I didn’t know why I couldn’t tear my eyes off of you in those shorts, or why I couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss in the parking lot.” 

My cheeks burned.

“But when you went down, I realized why.” Then he raised his head to look at me, those jadeite eyes stormy with emotion. “I...I have feelings for you, Seth.” (I stopped breathing for a second.) “Feelings that are more than friendship, and I think I knew that even when I denied it during our talk in the basement. I couldn’t face it then. I know that’s shitty, and I’m sorry.” He let out a shaky breath. “I don’t know why I feel this way. I’m not gay, not some closet case. I’m really not, and I think that’s why I tried to deny it for so long. I’ve never been into men, but you’ve never been like other men anyway.” He ran out of air, and after he breathed again, he said, “Please say something.”

“What--” I had to clear my throat and try again. “What are you telling me?”

His eyes dropped, a faint flush tickling his cheeks. “I...I think I want you to be my--obviously not my woman, like I said, but boyfriend doesn’t feel quite right either.”

“Hold on a minute,” I said.

“You don’t want to?” His face tightened.

“I...I just…” It was hard to find words for the swirl of emotions I was experiencing. “I’ve imagined you confessing your undying love for me so many times since I was a kid, and then we’d kiss in the chapel in the woods, our people would accept us, and the orchestral score would swell as the credits rolled like one of the gay movies I smuggled into Empyrean with Beni over the years.” It was mortifying telling him that, but he had been honest. So could I. 

“I was just finally accepting that it was only ever a fantasy, the first harmless crush gay boys have on someone that will never love them back. I was making my peace with that, and now you’re telling me you  _ do  _ have feelings for me?” I shrugged, helplessly. “How can I just believe that?”

He nodded slowly, eyes working as he processed what I was saying. “You need some convincing?”

“I mean, maybe?” I said. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“Let me convince you, then.” Suddenly he sounded much more sure of himself. Staring me in the eye, he leaned in, closer and closer, and my breath caught as I realized he was leaning in to kiss me. Just before our lips met he stopped, watching me, giving me time to pull away, I realized.

Instead, my eyes fluttered closed. 

His hands (wide and strong) palmed my face, just like I had done to him at the college, tipping my face up to the perfect angle.

And then he kissed me. 

His lips were so soft, so gentle. Soft, but not hesitant. He  _ did  _ really want to kiss me, and that shot more tingles through my body than the kiss itself. I was disappointed when he pulled back. 

“Convinced?”

“Nope!”

He chuckled, and kissed me again. This time it was a  _ real  _ kiss, not the Disney version, opening my mouth with his own. He sucked my lower lip into his mouth, and I moaned. More low laughter.

“Don’t make fun of me,” I muttered against his lips. 

“Wasn’t,” he promised, stroking my cheek with his thumbs. “I just like hearing that.”

My face flamed. I needed to deflect. “How did it feel to kiss a boy?”

He stared down at me, eyes solemn. Then his face cracked into a smile. “Annoyingly perfect.”

“Shut uuuuuuup.” I pushed his face away, but he just caught my hand with his own, holding them there against his cheek.

“Hmmm.” He kissed my palm. “Honestly? Just felt like a kiss. No different than kissing a girl. Believe me yet?”

“Maybe I do,” I whispered, an unfamiliar feeling beating in my ribs. Hope, I think. “You really wanna be together?”

“I mean, I’m not saying I’m ready for violins in the woods,” he said. The liar  _ was  _ making fun of me, and I huffed at him. He grinned. “I mean, I’ll need some time before I...before we tell...everyone. But yeah. I want you to be mine.”

_ Mine _ . 

The heat spread from my cheeks over my whole body. 

“Yours?” That quiet, unsure voice couldn’t possibly belong to me. 

He held my chin with his fingers until I looked at him. There was no doubt in those gray-green eyes. “Mine.”

“Okay,” I said.

He laughed. “No more convincing?”

I held up two fingers about an inch apart. “Maybe a  _ little  _ more convincing.” 

A smug grin turned up his mouth, and he started to lean in again. Then we heard the soft bump of Espy’s cane on the floor. She must be in sore shape if she needed it. 

Evan straightened up, his hand falling from my face to grip my hand instead. I wasn’t disappointed. How could I be after that kiss? He had told me he needed time, and that was fair. I’d had years to sort my feelings out. I could give him more than a couple days.

Espy knocked on the door frame as she entered. “I see you’re alive.”

“Back from the dead by popular demand,” I said. Was my voice too high pitched? Did Espy notice?

“Glad to hear it,” she smiled, then turned a little serious. “I hate to interrupt, but I need to speak with Seth for a moment.”

He looked to me, and I nodded.

“Of course,” he said. Then, shocking me, he brought my hand to his mouth and kissed my fingers. “I’ll be downstairs.”

I was too surprised to say anything, but he was already getting up. Espy smiled at him, a little proud?, as he went by. Then she took his spot in the chair, sitting a bit heavy.

“Uh, what’s up?” I said, stupidly.

She sighed, and I could never have predicted what she was going to say. 

“I need to apologize.”


End file.
